Ambages of Resilience
by Celtic Oak
Summary: AU. After a devastating accident, the only option left is to pick up the shattered remains of life and to strive to piece them together. Yet resilience has its own agenda and the lost pieces of two broken people may just be found in each other.
1. Pick Yourself Up

**A/N:** I had an old shoulder-blade injury come back to haunt me a couple of months back, an incident that unexpectedly dunked me in the world of physiotherapy for a couple of days. It renewed my admiration for people who give their all to overcome the physical disabilities terrible accidents, illness or surgery left them with. I didn't know the experience had inspired a story until I started writing this a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you guys enjoy tagging along for the ride with this one. I have to say I like where it's going.

(Rated this T for the time being!)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter I - PICK YOURSELF UP<strong>

**~xxx~  
><strong>

_I've fallen out of favour and I've fallen from grace_  
><em>Fallen out of trees and I've fallen on my face<em>  
><em>Fallen out of taxis, out of windows too<em>  
><em>Fell in your opinion when I fell in love with you<em>

_Sometimes I wish for falling, wish for the release_  
><em>Wish for falling through the air to give me some relief<em>  
><em>Because falling's not the problem, when I'm falling I'm at peace<em>  
><em>It's only when I hit the ground it causes all the grief<em>

Falling, Florence + The Machine

~xxx~

It was the uncanny sound of metal scraping against metal again. Like listening within a void, Sakura could not escape the reverberation of metal hitting its likeness with the inherent force of a moving object going at a speed of seventy-three miles per hour.

In one of those strange moments that don't seem to have any meaning while they are happening, she remembered eyeing the speedometer before all the world came to a shattering halt.

Seventy-three miles per hour.

And then the excruciating sound of scraping metal, crushed and wrinkled, like if it were no more than cardboard paper.

No matter how hard she tried to run from it, she couldn't escape the sound. It would always come upon her from one instant to the next, when she looked over her shoulder for a second or when she looked up from whatever she was doing. It thundered down upon her, drowning away everything else.

And then she was flying through the back windshield all over again, landing on the concrete of the road behind the smashed car. Not that she could feel anything, no. Her senses, in an attempt to prevent her consciousness from being carried off by the magnitude of the experience, had shut down. The pain appeared later, much later.

As she lay there on the concrete, she didn't register the warmth of the blood running down her face from the cuts on her brow. She didn't register the smell of the dripping car oil as it spilled onto the road. She didn't see the people running towards the accident, intent on aiding any survivors.

All she could make out was the laughter. _His_ laughter. As he sat in the driver's seat, the bones of his legs completely crushed and his skull cracked from where it had broken the window, all he could do was laugh. Looking at the dark-haired man in the other car, his eyes closed in death and blood on his face, all he did was laugh.

'_I finally killed you, brother. I finally killed you.'_

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"Alright, try it a little higher," Naruto said, standing to one side.

Gaara, stretching his left arm away from his body, attempted to lift it as much as he could. He could feel the strain of what would otherwise be a simple movement on his injured shoulder. It wasn't hurting at the moment and it had already taken more than forty-five minutes of continuous stretching exercises.

This, in the redhead's perspective, was a marked improvement. He'd been unable to move his shoulder at all when he'd started out. Still, he wasn't exactly renowned for his patience. The few weeks that had passed since he'd started out his physiotherapy program with Naruto had been excruciatingly slow-going for the redhead. Even though he was already lifting weights to regain the strength in his unused muscles, he wished it would all progress faster.

Gripping the weight in his hand, he kept lifting his arm.

"Good, that's it," Naruto remarked, observing Gaara's face for any trace of discomfort. "Alright, stop and hold it there."

But the wilful redhead didn't do as he was told. He kept lifting his arm up.

"Gaara," the blond said in a warning tone, "I said stop."

The other man still didn't listen and kept raising his arm. Something so simple shouldn't be so hard. He'd lifted five times this weight before; he knew he was able to do it.

"Stop. Now." The words clipped out of Naruto's mouth.

The strain proved too much and the predictable pain erupted in his shoulder. He felt the tension on his prosthetic joint as it made an effort to accommodate the weight and the forced movement. Gaara couldn't help hissing out in pain.

"Stubborn mule!" the blond exclaimed, whacking the redhead on the back of the head with his open palm.

The impact made Gaara drop the weight in his hand, lowering his arm rapidly as he did so. His jade eyes glared at the blond despite the throbbing pain jolting his joint.

"Oh don't give me that look," Naruto admonished as he bent down to pick up the weight from the mat on the floor. "You know very well you're as obstinate as they come. And you know very well that when I say stop, I mean stop, soldier!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes at him. "And _I_ meant it when I said that if you gave me any drill sergeant bullshit I'd throw you on the floor, injured shoulder or not."

The blond chuckled at his cockiness. "Your threats don't work on me, _soldier,_" his repeated emphasis on the word made the redhead look even more rebellious. "Besides, you'll find that throwing me won't be easy and if you do try to pull it off, I'll have you wreathing in pain before you know what hit you. _I_ am the physiotherapist here."

"As if you'd let me forget it," Gaara grumbled but he backed down. He knew Naruto was right. During his first days, when his frustration over his injury had been riding him the hardest, the blond had demonstrated he could deal with an aggressive ex-marine patient who tried to overpower him physically. Using his good arm, Gaara had thrown a punch at him at a particularly exasperating moment of his rehabilitation; in response, Naruto had simply dodged it, grabbed his incoming hand and had done something to his fingers that had made the redhead groan out in pain. He'd always been a quick learner and he instantly realized that messing with the physiotherapist was a bad idea. Gaara refrained from repeating the mistake.

Besides, he knew very well that Naruto was genuinely trying to help him. During the time they'd spent together, working on Gaara's shoulder for a couple of hours almost every day of the week, the two of them had come to recognize a kindred spirit in each other.

Naruto was one of those people that seemed to naturally appeal to others; his open manner and his unreserved way with words made him impossible to dislike. No matter how tight-lipped a patient was, the blond always managed to get them to talk. It was evident he enjoyed helping people and his enjoyment of his work proved to be a great motivation for his patients. Allowing them to voice their aggravation and openly sharing their frustration while recuperating from their personal injuries, Naruto proved to be a natural physiotherapist. Not that Gaara had fallen for his antics to start off with. Instead, he proved to be a rather difficult nut to crack. But Naruto thrived on challenges.

Being amazingly private with his life, Gaara had fought the dedicated physiotherapist every step of the way. Even though physical intimidation had been out of the question since the blond had almost dislocated all his fingers, there were other ways the redhead could rebel. But the more he kept silent and the more insurgent be became, the more Naruto battered at his defences. It continued until the redhead finally erupted; cursing and cussing at the blond, he finally spilled out his story and the reason for his injury.

Predictably, it hadn't been a bedtime story with a happy ending.

But Naruto had simply smiled, genuine sympathy in his blue eyes, and asked if he felt better now. Strangely, the redhead grudgingly admitted that he did.

"I more or less knew what happened," Naruto had confessed. "The military hospital did send me your file, after all. But I just wanted to hear it from you."

The redhead kept cursing him for a week straight after that but the blond didn't seem to mind. The sharp edge of Gaara's insults had disappeared and as the days progressed the two of them had started developing a rather unexpected friendship.

It was the reason why Naruto was allowed to whack Gaara upside the head when he didn't behave.

"Alright, time to call it a day," the blond said, looking up at the clock hanging on the wall to one side of the large room.

It was similar to a gym in many aspects, with a series of exercise machines on one side, a large mirror running along the opposite wall and thick mats covering most of the floor. This was the room within the clinic where the more advanced stages of physiotherapy took place. There were doors on the far end of the room leading towards a traditional Japanese garden where patients were welcome to rest whenever they felt like it. At the front of the clinic, along one side of the large room and down the hallway leading to the entrance, there were a few smaller rooms were other kinds of physical therapies were performed.

"I can take a bit more," Gaara complained, his impatience at his shoulder evident.

Naruto shook his head. "If it were up to you, we'd be here till morning," he stated with a chuckle. "Come on, it's time for Tenten to give you your massage."

"That's right!" called out a female voice at the other end of the room. "Time for your massage therapy, marine!"

Both Gaara and Naruto looked up to see Tenten, dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. "You kept him exercising fifteen minutes longer than you were supposed to," she told Naruto, "I've been waiting."

"Sorry about that," the blond remarked sheepishly, "you know he can be rather enthusiastic."

"And you're supposed to be the one in charge," she countered, narrowing her brown eyes as the two men approached her. She turned towards Gaara, her gaze devious. "Now I'm going to have to work extra on your shoulder to undo any damage."

The redhead groaned. The massages were his least favourite part of his rehabilitation. He'd tried to go around them but Naruto, not to mention Tenten, had been adamant. There had been nothing to do but grit his teeth and bare it. But damn, the bloody massages hurt like a bitch!

"Tenten, you're supposed to help patients, not torture them," Neji remarked as he stepped out of one of the adjacent rooms where he performed his acupuncture therapy.

"Says the man who sticks needles into his patients," Gaara murmured under his breath.

Naruto snorted at his words, smiling widely. "You might find it really helpful if you would only deign to try it."

"Over my dead body," the redhead replied vehemently.

Neji shook his head. "Gaara, I've told a dozen times, I'm a professional. You'll barely feel the needles."

"I'd rather face Tenten's torture," he remarked, making his way towards the woman's massage room.

"It wouldn't be torture if you did what you were told," the woman said as she turned to follow him, "besides, a marine afraid of a few needles? It's unheard of!"

"_Ex_-marine," Gaara growled but she merely chuckled.

It seemed his intimating techniques had been rendered completely useless since he had been... approved, for lack of a better term, by Naruto. When he had first shown up at the clinic, it had been easy to keep people at bay and frighten them off with his harsh demeanour. But once the blond had made his way past his defences and began to approach him with genuine friendship, the others working at his clinic had done the same. There was no undoing what Naruto had done. Now, all his physiotherapists treated him without an iota of respect.

And if the redhead was completely honest with himself, he didn't exactly mind. It was a welcome change to be able to relate to people in such a way, without wondering if they would be alive the next minute or if they would be a liability when the time for action came.

Because that was it, wasn't it? He'd spend the last eleven years of his life moving from one deadly situation to another, moulded into a proficient and unthinking killing machine, pulling off the jobs no one in the military wanted to take on. His brigade had never existed, at least not officially. Consisting of maladjusted young men who cared nothing for their lives and who had nowhere else to go, they were turned into the government's ruthless assassins. Gaara had volunteered for the military when he was seventeen because he believed death would surely come for him if he did. He'd signed up yearning for it. But then his profile been the perfect fit for the secret brigade project the high military officials had been working on. So off he went, donning the cloak of the Reaper willingly.

The time Gaara had been forced to spend in the hospital, recovering from the incident that had almost resulted in his death, had been the final antidote to remove the red haze that had covered his eyes for most of his life. It had been a trying exercise, lying there unmoving in a bed and staring all day at the ceiling fan above him, going over with great detail through all the years he had spent in the military. Despite the inevitable bleakness of such contemplation, it had proved rather enlightening.

Strange that it had taken so many years and so much death for him to finally snap out of it. It was a veritable revelation, to realize that his life was actually worth something.

Ironically, his crippled shoulder had been his ticket out of the military. Since Gaara had barely touched the generous salary that had been deposited in his bank account each month without fail for the past ten years, he found he was a free man in every sense of the word. He could do whatever he wanted.

And what he wanted was to regain the complete use of his arm. He'd be damned if a prosthetic joint was going to prevent him from using his limb like he used to.

A streak of mind-numbing pain brought him back from his musings, forcing him to wince.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss," Tenten told him but the way she softened the movements of her hands belied her words. She had worked her way up his arm until she reached his joint, massaging his exerted muscles.

Leaning against the doorframe, Naruto smiled at the redhead. "Are you sure you don't prefer the needles?"

"Completely sure," Gaara replied with a growl.

"By the way," Tenten addressed Naruto, "when did Sakura say she was coming? Next Wednesday or Thursday?"

The expression on the blond's face changed from one instant to the next, a mix of concern and determination flitting across his features. "Next Friday, a week from today, actually. I'll be here with her the whole weekend."

Tenten nodded, her expression equally determined. "I'll be here to check on her before you start. I'm certain she'll need a good rub down before you try anything."

A grim yet resilient silence descended upon the room. Gaara lifted his eyes to look at the two of them but refrained from saying anything. He was aware that this Sakura they were speaking about was a close friend to all of them and that she'd had a terrible accident. What exactly had happened, he didn't know. Uncharacteristically, Naruto had been rather tight-lipped about the whole thing.

But the redhead figured, like it or not, he would find out when she got here. Not that he was overly interested in whatever it was that had happened to her. In their personal opinion, everyone who showed up here had a tragic story to accompany them. It had been on countless occasions that the redhead had been left imagining the look on another patient's face if he were to reveal the actual truth of his injury. By disclosing what was wrong with them so openly it was evident that what patients wanted was sympathy and compassion. Well, Gaara had gone all his life without sympathy and compassion was a completely alien concept to him.

So no, having another patient with a supposedly disastrous tale coming to the clinic had nothing to do with him.

"Gaaraaaa!" an enthusiastic voice called from the corridor, "I made it back in time for your thermal therapy!"

The interruption effectively dispelled the silent tension within the room. Naruto burst out laughing while Tenten tried to unsuccessfully hide her grin behind her hand.

The redhead buried his face morosely into the cushion of the massage bed. Why couldn't luck be on his side for once in his accursed life?

"He's right here, Lee," Naruto called, leaning his head out the door frame, "he was hoping you would manage to make it."

Jade eyes glared at the blond. "I can bloody buy a heat patch at the drug store and apply it myself."

"But you wouldn't do it with the fervour of youth," Tenten remarked, barely controlling her laughter, "you know it's famous for its healing qualities."

Lee had reached the door of the massage room by then, gracing him with a winning smile and a thumbs-up.

For the umpteenth time, Gaara wondered why, out of all the other perfectly decent physiotherapist establishments in the city, he had decided to choose this particular clinic of lunatics.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

_I finally...killed...you._

With a jerk, Sakura came awake, instantly aware of her surroundings. In an act of amazing self control, she steadied her breathing with a few exhalations, bringing the erratic beating of her heart to a normal pace once again. After being plagued by the same recurrent nightmare for the past months, the breathing techniques came naturally to her now. Luckily, their effectiveness never wore off and she managed to subdue the rising panic before it peaked out of control. She fell back upon her pillows once more, looking at the eerie light of the alarm clock on her night table.

4:44am.

She closed her eyes, knowing very well she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep but attempting it anyway. During the first weeks after the accident, the nightmare would visit her at least three times a night and made it impossible for her to sleep at all. No matter what drugs the doctors gave her or how exhausted she was, she was never able to sleep the night through. Sakura was very much aware it was part of the trauma she had suffered; it was only natural for her head to be completely screwed up and for it to re-live the event over and over again in a masochistic sort of inner film festival. The more she wanted to forget, the more her mind strove to remember. It was a kind of necessary processing of information, essential for her mind to patch itself up. Torturous while it was happening yet necessary all the same. True to what she had been told and what she knew of such trauma recoveries, the nightmares had receded as time went by; even though their intensity didn't lessen, at least their number did. Now, she would wake up two or three times per week at the most.

It was, in her opinion, progress of some kind. Even though Sakura wished they would disappear altogether. It would make her life a whole lot easier if she were finally able to put all this behind her. But the unconscious fragments of her mind had other opinions… and from the way they were behaving Sakura openly wondered if the nightmares would ever disappear completely.

'Nightly companions for the rest of my life', she thought sullenly. It did no good to be able to understand it all rationally; in such circumstances, rationality simply wasn't part of the equation. When it came to the lingering inner terror that accompanied a life-shattering event of this magnitude, all the medical knowledge in the world didn't help to keep the shadows at bay.

Sitting up, she reached for the crutches leaning against the headboard of her bed. Once she had a good grip on them in one hand, she turned on the bedside lamp with the other. The shaded light was soft and illuminated her hotel room only partially; even so she had to give her eyes a few moments to adjust.

Sometimes the darkness of her nightmares would continue to cover her eyes even after she came awake and it took a while for it to dissipate completely in consciousness.

With a grunt, she lifted her right leg from the bed, carefully bending her knee as she sat up on the edge of the bed. Pain crept up her leg but it was only momentary. She looked down at her injured limb, covered in a special knee-brace, and patted it softly as if to reassure it. They had come a long way from where they had started off from. At one point there had been serious doubts of her being able to walk again at all.

That was the good thing about having a medical degree; she knew exactly what was happening and other doctors' misgivings would just fall on deaf ears. Sakura was very much aware that the odds were against her. The fracture she incurred when landing on the pavement had more or less obliterated her knee. Surgery had given her the chance to regain some of what had been lost but she knew what the specialists thought. It would be considered a victory if she managed to walk with a limp for the rest of her life, relying on a cane for any kind of movement.

But this wasn't enough for Sakura. Not even nearly enough. She wouldn't allow him to steal her life from her, like he'd intended to do. Inexorably pulled into the vortex of his obsessive madness, he had tried to bring her down with him. But it wasn't her fate to meet her end in the violent crash he had perpetrated. Life had other plans for her, allowing her to make a rather messy escape but an escape nonetheless. If she had to sacrifice her knee to be able to live the remaining years of her life, she didn't begrudge it. She would pay the price for the erroneous choices she had made and pay them in full so they would never come back to haunt her.

But sacrifice didn't mean she had to lower her head. No, it very damn well didn't. She promised herself she would never lose sight of the horizon ever again. Now, after all was done and he was lying in a coma he would most likely never rise from, she refused for him to affect her life in any way. Sakura refused to give him the satisfaction. She would triumph no matter what it took.

So no, a lifelong limp was not even nearly enough.

Luckily, it hadn't been enough for Naruto either.

Her friend was just as stubborn as she was, infuriated beyond words at the source of her injury. He'd wept with her, holding her tight until the deluge of her tears had finally run dry. Then, the anger had finally come along. Initially worried that she would fall into sullenness after she had recovered from the initial shock, Naruto was more than happy to give full vent to the rage he felt when she had expressed her own anger at what had happened. He discussed and argued with the doctors more avidly than she did. After having flown in on the very first flight he could find after hearing of her accident, he stayed by her side a whole lot longer than he'd originally intended. The feisty blond wouldn't leave her until her surgery had been performed; until he was sure modern medicine had done all it could to help her.

"You do all you can," he'd told the doctors with a determined glint in his eyes, "then the leave the rest to me."

It was then that Naruto told Sakura that the purpose of him having a degree in physiotherapy, after struggling through school all those long years, was to be able to help her when this moment arrived.

Unable to voice any coherent statement through her tears, she'd hugged him tightly and inwardly promised herself she would fight with everything she had until she was able to walk.

Sure, there was more metal than bone in her knee now but this wasn't going to deter her or Naruto. The scraping of metal against metal had gotten her into this… and it was the same scraping that would get her out. The titanium in her joint would not let her down; she knew she could rely on it.

Placing her crutches under her arms, Sakura lifted up from the bed with practiced ease and headed for the bathroom. As time passed, she had become rather adept at handling her crutches. Due to the seriousness of her injury, she had to wait twice the time after normal knee surgery to start her rehabilitation. Of course, she had started out with small stretching exercise in an attempt for her leg to regain some of its strength. Naruto had coached her through the simple exercises through webcam and Ino had been with her during the sessions to help her out.

But the time had come for her to go all out and start with more advanced physiotherapy. The time had come to pack her bags and fly back to her hometown, Konoha, the place where Naruto ran his physical therapy clinic. The moment had arrived for her to face the music and found out what she was truly made of.

Naruto had had extensive phone conversations with Sakura about how tough her rehab would be. He'd been thoroughly honest, in typical Naruto fashion, not holding anything back from her and informing her of what it was she was getting into. And she had, in typical Sakura fashion, risen to the challenge she was about to face. She was intent on holding her head up no matter how many times she fell and ended up in tears on the ground. She vowed to pick herself right up.

With that resolve in mind, Sakura turned on the light of her small bathroom. Now that she was awake, she might as well take a shower. The earlier she started the better. Of course, the fact that she had arrived two days in advance than she'd initially planned might have something to do with her eagerness. Her co-workers, darlings that they were, had helped her finish the projects she had been working on and aided her in delegating all the tasks she had been forced to leave pending. After five years of working at the same medical research firm, it seemed her assistants and peers had developed a rather endearing loyalty towards her. And it wasn't just them… her boss too. Tsunade-sama had given her leave to take all the time she needed to get better.

"I'm sure you'll come waltzing in through those doors on your own two legs sooner than any of us expects," she'd told Sakura. "At least your pigheadedness will come in handy this time around."

Hence, thanks to all their help, she had been able to get off work two days earlier and had managed to change her flight at the last minute. Sakura had not let Naruto know on purpose, wanting to surprise him. She couldn't wait to see the look on his and the others' faces when she arrived at his clinic. It was sure to be priceless.

With a skill that denoted practice, Sakura took off her clothes before manoeuvring into the shower. She carefully sat down on the plastic stool she had especially asked for and turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. It took a while to take off her knee-brace but she finally managed it. Making sure she kept her injured leg properly stretched and in place, she reached up for the removable showerhead. The dim light of dawn was starting to filter through the window, slowly washing away the remaining shadows of the lingering night. She looked up steadily at the hazy glass and breathed in deeply.

It was time to get her life back.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Sweat trickled down the side of Gaara's face as he jogged a final lap around the park. The early morning air felt crisp and fresh all around him, his hot breaths coming out in white puffs. Dressed in shorts, sweater and a gray beanie, he revelled in the lack of shoulder pain as he progressed through his morning jog. It seemed the workings of his lunatic physiotherapists were really paying off.

When he had first attempted to go out for a run after starting his rehabilitation, his shoulder had started to kill him only five minutes into his jog. Gaara had thought running would be a perfectly performable exercise… but the swinging movement of his arms as he jogged proved to be too much. No matter how much he willed it to remain in place, his shoulder still got jolted around. To realize he wouldn't be able to vent some of his frustration by taking a quick run had only helped to worsen his already sour disposition. His stubborn streak had shone through though and he refused to back down. But when Naruto caught him jogging with his arm in a sling, the blond physiotherapist almost had an apoplexy.

Gaara didn't think it was worth making such a fuss but his madcap specialists had been merciless. He was banned from doing any rehab exercises for three days, forced to receive extra massages as well as additional ultrasound therapy on top of what he normally got and was given so many heat patches he thought he would spontaneously combust. It was when Neji had attempted to corner him into one of his treatment rooms, his needles at the ready, that Gaara had finally caved in. He swore he wouldn't go for a jog until they all approved.

The four of them had glared threateningly: they certainly hoped he had learned his lesson.

Luckily, the treatment paid off and he was allowed to go out jogging only after two weeks had passed by. All in all, he'd been in therapy for almost two months now. Even though he still had some ways to go before his arm regained any level of normalcy, the redhead was satisfied with the progress he had made. Naruto had made it clear from the beginning that his healing would be slow-going; the injury he was recovering from hadn't been what one would call superficial. His shoulder bones had been splintered by enemy bullets and his joint had to be rebuilt almost from scratch using titanium. It was a testament to surgical technology and the skill of the military surgeons that they had been able to succeed in such a venture. A weaker man would have certainly lost his arm. But Gaara couldn't have been in better physical condition; a dedicated soldier, albeit for the wrong reasons, no one could deny that his body was in prime shape.

Your body is your main weapon, one of his first drill instructors had said when he had recently enlisted... and Gaara had taken this statement to heart. On more than one occasion he had proved he didn't need a firearm or a blade to kill a man.

Jogging in place as he waited for a traffic light, the redhead finally left the park and headed towards the clinic. He had an early appointment today since Naruto had booked the whole afternoon to work with one of his special clients. Konohamaru, a small ten year old boy, had suffered from a severe case of polio that had affected his legs. With the help of Naruto, the child was attempting to regain his ability to walk... and succeeding with amazing results.

This meant that Gaara, who was also ranked among Naruto's special clients much to his mortification, had been rescheduled for morning treatment. Neji would be giving him ultrasound therapy before he and Naruto went through a weight-lifting routine. If all went well, he'd be able increase the weight he'd been lifting this past week.

The redhead stopped at a convenience store along the way and bought a bottle of Gatorade along with a few pastries. He never ate breakfast before running but if he arrived at the clinic without eating anything, Tenten would wring his neck. Kami-sama knew how many times she'd babbled endlessly about breakfast being the most important meal of the day and all that gibberish. When Gaara had been out on a mission, there had been occasions in which he'd made it through with barely a single meal a day for long stretches. Again, he wasn't sure what the fuss was about but he was a quick learner: he could avoid the annoying sermons if he only ate something before reaching the clinic.

After gobbling down the greasy cheese-filled croissants, he reached the clinic a few minutes later.

"I'm here!" he shouted from the entrance, opening his Gatorade bottle and taking a long satisfying drink.

"Good morning to you too!" Tenten retorted from within the confines of the otherwise silent clinic.

Gaara heard her mumble something about him never learning manners and couldn't help grinning deviously. His insolence was just retaliation for the pain he suffered at her hands.

"Did you eat something?" came her predictable question.

Luckily, he was ready for it. "I ate three cheese-croissants," he answered, victoriously avoiding one of her lectures.

"Humph," she replied, unconvinced. It was clear his choice of breakfast wasn't as healthy as she would have liked it to be. But still, since he had actually eaten something, she couldn't complain too much.

"Oi, Gaara!" Naruto shouted from even deeper within the clinic. From what the redhead could discern, he seemed to be opening the back garden doors. "Did you go out for a jog?"

"Yeah," the redhead answered, gulping down some more Gatorade. "Five miles. Still not close to what I used to do but it's better than nothing."

He heard the blond chuckle. "You got that right!"

"Gaara," came Neji's voice from within one of the therapy rooms, "I'm prepping up for your ultrasound. Give me five minutes."

The redhead grunted his assent, walking over to one of the chairs in the waiting room in front of the main desk of the clinic where a newspaper had been hurriedly tossed.

"Is this today's paper?" he asked loudly.

"Yes!" came Tenten and Neji's simultaneous reply.

He looked over the headlines of the front page in a quick yet thorough scan. He stood there, one hand holding the paper while the other held his bottle half way to his lips when the door of the clinic opened with a jingle of bells.

Thinking it was Lee, Gaara opened his mouth to make some snide remark before his jade eyes lifted from the page and looked at the woman standing before him.

Propped up on a pair of crutches, she was surveying the clinic's interior with a look of hopeful determination on her face. She was wearing a hooded jacket and jeans, her right leg bent at an angle to avoid her foot from making contact with the floor. There was a small backpack slung over her shoulders. Her hair was a shade of delicate pink and once her eyes finished looking at her surroundings and finally rested on him, he found they were a deep emerald green.

She seemed to be taken aback at finding him standing there, as if she hadn't noticed his presence until now. Her inquisitive eyes looked him over for a moment before she nodded and half-smiled in silent greeting.

Despite the upwards curve of her mouth, Gaara couldn't help but notice the haunted look in her beautiful eyes. It was inevitable for a man like him to be instantly aware of the inner turmoil reflected within her emerald orbs, even though she made an effort to hide it. Someone else might not have noticed but courtesy of his chosen profession and the things he had done, Gaara was very well acquainted with despair. He'd danced with death enough times to recognise the tainted mark it left behind... and it seemed this roseate haired woman had danced closely with the Reaper herself.

Nonetheless, here she was, standing with her head held high and holding herself proudly despite the crutches she needed to hold herself upright. She may have danced with death but she certainly wasn't letting the experience defeat her or turn her into a whimpering failure.

As such, Gaara couldn't help feel a surge of respect for her. It must have shown in his eyes because under his intense gaze, she blushed slightly and turned her eyes away.

"Was that Lee?" Naruto asked from within the clinic. From the sound of his voice, he was walking steadily towards the reception room.

"No, it's not Lee!" Gaara shouted back.

The woman had turned her head quickly at the sound of Naruto's voice, a bigger and more genuine smile appearing on her lips. She seemed to be overcome with anticipation all of a sudden.

"Who is it then?" Naruto inquired.

"I don't know," the redhead replied, dropping the paper unto a nearby chair and taking a final drink from his bottle.

"Well, why don't you ask the-" the blond started to say but he had finally appeared at the end of the corridor and was forced to stop in mid-sentence.

The woman was standing directly in front of Gaara, beaming at the blond. The redhead was sure that had she not been impaired by her clutches, she would have made a mad rush towards Naruto.

She didn't have to, though. The blond, overcome with emotion and his mouth gaping open, finally recovered from his initial shock and basically charged at her.

"SAKURA!" he boomed before he reached her and took her up in his arms. It was painful to see how he controlled himself for it was clear that he wanted nothing more than to twirl her around the room. But Naruto remained still, lifting her up from the ground in a huge bear hug that was utterly mindful of her injured leg.

"I'm here," came her muffled voice from somewhere within Naruto's embrace. She had dropped her crutches to return her friend's hug and they had landed on the floor with a clang.

"I can bloody see that!" Naruto exclaimed. "When did you get here? How did you-"

But he was interrupted.

Tenten was shouting something as she ran down the corridor and Neji exclaimed in surprise as he followed fast on her heals. In that instant, the door opened again to reveal Lee, who was in the middle of voicing an excuse for being late.

In a whirlwind of movement and high emotion all of them descended upon Sakura who, lifting her face from Naruto's hug to reveal joyful teary eyes at seeing them all, smiled and laughed at the hundred questions they threw her way.

Taking aim towards the recycling bin and succeeding in throwing his bottle in it, Gaara shook his head at the cacophonous spectacle in front of him.

His physiotherapists truly were a bunch of raging lunatics.

* * *

><p>Comment, comment, comment!<p> 


	2. First Step Forward

**A/N:** Alright, here's the second instalment! To all of you who asked, my shoulder-blade's all better now; even though it'll never be the same after a good-sized rock fell off from a 10mt-high cliff over the beach I was at and landed directly on it around 15 years ago. Still, I have to say I much prefer dealing with the malady for the rest of my life than for the rock to have landed on my head. ^_^

I'm aware that the details about Sakura's accident may not make any sense... that's how they're supposed to be for the time being. So keep your pants on. ;D

Lots of introspection in this chapter, though I didn't plan it that way. It just came out like that.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter II – FIRST STEP FORWARD<strong>

**~xxx~**

It took a while for all of them to calm down somewhat. Sakura had been quickly ushered towards one of the nearby chairs so she could sit, her backpack readily disposed by helping hands for her comfort. This only made the questioning all the easier for her four concerned friends and she tried her best to answer their queries. They ranged from worry over her leg, concern over her means of transport to wondering why she had arrived two days earlier and if she had had any breakfast. Seeing them crowding all around her, happy and supportive, made her heart spasm within her chest.

All the lonely moments she'd experienced since the accidents, instances when she thought despair would finally swallow her whole flashed through her mind. It made her realize how much she had truly missed being around her friends. The resolve that she had made the right decision in coming here settled firmly within her chest. With their support, it seemed it might just be possible to pull off this recovery scheme of hers.

There was no room for lingering shadows when the brightness of their dispositions was there to greet her in the morning. No matter how dark her nights were or how endless her nocturnal anguish, her friends would be a channel through which she could reaffirm her resolutions. A blessed reprieve after the darkness threatened to consume her from the inside out.

They kept talking over themselves for a while, too excited and pleased to calm down. Sakura listened to their chatter with a smile but a part of her was focusing on the tall stranger on the other side of the waiting room.

The sharp look he had given her, pale jade piercing through her, had made her stop in her tracks. About to voice a greeting, her words had died in her throat at the intense detached scrutiny in his gaze. It had felt like if he had been passing judgement on her and, a couple of almost painful heartbeats later, he had found her unexpectedly worthy. A surge of relief had spiralled within her before she could stop it. It was a ludicrous notion but in that moment, his approval had seemed important.

The arrogance of his stance was belied by the pale complexion of his face. His clear jade eyes were akin to cold stone, made all the more translucent due to the black rings of exhaustion around them. The crimson tattoo on his forehead stood out all the more due to his pallid hue, making him look even more battered. Despite his deceiving strong physique, there was something about him that made it evident that he'd seen better days. After being distracted and able to clear her head, Sakura finally realized why she had felt such a strange kinship towards him.

The man was a patient recovering from whatever hardships his body had suffered. Damaged and broken, just like her, he was attempting to pick up the scattered broken pieces to create a whole again. He was here to give it his best shot even though he was aware of the great odds he was going up against

Smiling despite herself at the thought, Sakura finally decided it was time to stop her ranting friends.

"Guys, guys," she interrupted, bringing her hands up. "I know all of us have got lots of catching up to do but I'm going to be here for a long while. Besides I don't want to interrupt your work." As she finished speaking, she gestured towards the other end of the waiting room.

Blinking, as if wondering what she was talking about, they turned around to look. They found Gaara sitting on one of the chairs, the newspaper he had held before on his lap, attentively reading the sports section and utterly ignoring the cacophony in front of him. At the sudden silence, he lifted his head up in query.

"Meh," Naruto said, waving his hand in his direction, "that's just Gaara."

But Neji wasn't so dismissive.

"Damn, Gaara, your ultrasound!" he exclaimed guiltily, turning around and making his way down the corridor in a hurry. It was strange to see the usually serious Neji so flustered. It made Sakura wonder who this stranger was.

She saw the man shake his head wryly before standing up. He pulled off the gray beanie he was wearing as he did so, revealing a tussled mess of crimson hair underneath. Taken slightly aback by his striking colouring, Sakura felt her curiosity towards him peak all the more.

"What do you mean 'just Gaara'?" she asked Naruto.

"Well, he's more or less part of the clinic already," the blond said.

"You bet," Lee also remarked with a grin.

"No, I am not," the redhead countered in cold opposition.

But neither Lee nor Naruto seemed to notice the vehemence in his voice. As a matter of fact, the blond continued as if the tall man hadn't spoken at all. "Come on over here so I can introduce you."

When the redhead was standing in front of Sakura, towering over her seated form, Naruto proceeded with the exchanging of pleasantries. "Sakura, this is Gaara. I've been working with him on a shoulder injury."

She turned her eyes up to him and nodded, smiling softly. "Nice to meet you."

The redhead simply grunted in assent, looking down at her with a wry look. He seemed to be about to say something but Neji's voice interrupted him. "Gaara, I'm all prepped up. Come on in."

Without a word, he turned towards the corridor and made his way towards one of the therapy rooms. Sakura watched him walk away, noticing the impressive breadth of his upper back before Tenten cut in.

"We need to get that leg of yours checked, missy," she said. "Come with me so we can see what we're working with."

"Let's take her to the therapy room so Neji can give us his opinion too," Naruto said. "We'll use the examination table there."

"I'll get the coffee brewing and be right there," Lee remarked before going off in a hurry towards the small kitchen at the back of the clinic.

Tenten and Naruto herded Sakura towards the appointed room. She gripped her crutches with determination as she walked, aware that the time for her to face the upcoming challenge had finally arrived.

Inside the room there was an ultrasound machine to one side with a reclinable chair next to it. Neji was hovering around the equipment while Gaara stood in front of him. When Sakura entered the doorway, she saw him lift his arms tentatively to take off his sweater, revealing a black tank-top underneath. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the skin over his left shoulder, the telltale signs of skin- grafting evident to her medical eye. She instantly knew his shoulder had undergone some kind of severe trauma and extensive surgery had been necessary to treat it.

Tenten directed her to an examination table on the other side of the room and she made her way towards it. Leaning her crutches against it, she turned her back towards the table and braced her hands on its surface to pull herself up. But Naruto beat her to it. He grabbed her round the waist and pulled her up before she could protest. Sakura narrowed her emerald eyes at him.

He was completely unaffected by her glare. "You'd best start getting used to my assistance," he told her. "You'll be seeing a lot more where that came from."

"Bully," the roseate haired woman remarked.

To her surprise, she heard Gaara snort at her response. She turned her face towards him only to find him sitting on the chair already, Neji smearing the ultrasound lubricant over his shoulder.

"Bully is too light a word to describe him," the redhead said. "I prefer the term tyrant."

Sakura couldn't help but grin widely at him.

"I am not a tyrant," Naruto countered, turning toward Gaara. "You seem to forget that what I do is for your own good. Besides, you wouldn't have it so tough if you only did what you were told."

"He misbehaves chronically," Tenten informed Sakura as she helped her pull up both her legs unto the table. She lifted them until they were stretched out together in front of Sakura.

"I do not," Gaara cut in defensively. "I've been successfully oppressed into submission."

Tenten shook her head, her twin buns bobbing. "You call that submission? I shudder to think what you'd be like in full insubordination mode."

"He tried to punch me, remember?" Naruto remarked, narrowing his blue eyes at the memory. "And he was aiming to do some real harm."

"He also kicked one of the big exercise balls down the room and back," Tenten said, cocking her head in recollection. "I'd never seen anyone treat an inflatable ball so violently."

"I _hate_ the ball exercises," Gaara said through clenched teeth.

"And don't forget the jogging with his arm in a sling incident," Neji contributed as he stoically ran the ultrasound over the redhead's shoulder.

"Kami-sama," Naruto exclaimed, "as if I could ever forget it! I was on the verge of dismembering him."

Sakura witnessed this exchange with growing fascination. All of them were openly criticizing Gaara, seemingly unaware of the growing threat behind his glowering eyes. He was emanating waves of menace that were almost palpable yet the three of them acted like if it meant nothing. After a quick assessment of his physique, Sakura was sure the redhead would be able to act out his threats if he wanted to despite his injured shoulder. Imposing would be a rather good word to describe him, injured or not. But he chose not to and even though he openly begrudged the criticism, he didn't make any menacing move. Sakura was beginning to suspect that this was the usual dynamic of the clinic.

Even so, she couldn't imagine her friends treating their clients like this all the time. Once more, she was overcome by the impression that Gaara was indeed a special patient.

"I wouldn't have done any of it if you hadn't been breathing down my neck at every moment," the redhead was saying in an acid tone.

"Well that's a first," Naruto remarked, "I think that's the first time a patient has recriminated me for doing my job properly."

Neji smiled widely while Tenten laughed. "Are a bunch of physiotherapists proving too much for you, marine?" she asked humorously.

_That_ was it! He was from the military. That was the reason why Sakura found him so physically overpowering and why his menacing demeanour was so authentic. The moody redhead was from the armed forces.

Gaara grumbled in reply, as if realizing it did no good to keep arguing with the likes of them. This made the three of them chuckle all the more.

Lee chose that moment to come through the doorway. "What are you all laughing about?" he asked.

The redhead closed his eyes in exasperation as they told him how they were reminiscing on Gaara's many rebellious exploits. For the umpteenth time, he told himself he really should look for alternative options of physical therapy.

But after a few moments, the four of them sobered up.

"Alright Sakura," Naruto said, coming to stand next to the examination table where she was sitting. "Let's see how your knee's doing."

With that, he started lifting the hems of her bootcut jeans, carefully bringing them up her leg and over her knee. Her special knee-brace came into view and Naruto reached up to start unbuckling it. Gaara saw the remains of surgical scars on the skin over and around her joint when the brace finally came off.

"What stretching exercises have you been doing?" Tenten asked.

And that question was all it took for all of them to fall into their professional roles. Depending on Sakura's comments, they threw opinions back and forth, all of them contributing to discern what kind of rehabilitation program would better fit her circumstances. To Gaara's surprise, Sakura added her own accurate opinions and it was belatedly that he remembered Naruto mentioning something about her being in the medical field.

He imagined that, being a doctor herself, this whole situation must be all the more exasperating. To know exactly what was happening to her body, the detailed causes and effects of her injury, but being unable to do anything about it must be one hell of an aggravating position. Gaara was forced to listen quietly as all of them talked so he took the opportunity to survey the roseate haired woman. She was a curious combination of steel and susceptibility. As she sat there, giving her professional and detached opinion about how she should go about her recovery, the vulnerability behind her eyes was something she couldn't entirely hide. The redhead was sure the others noticed but they did their best to bypass it. It was as if they were certain that if they brought her attention towards the hidden undercurrents she was emanating, Sakura would shatter before their eyes. So they were dancing round the subject, concentrating on helping her win back her confidence first.

The redhead shook his head. Even though he understood the sentiment, he couldn't agree with it. Carrying around weakness wasn't something you did. You had to look it ruthlessly in the eye and overcome it; recognizing it for what it was was an essential part of eradicating it. It was one of the principles he had been taught early on. There was no room for weakness in this world and the longer you clung to it, the greater the chances of you getting destroyed by it. In his opinion, Sakura was better off facing her inner demons sooner rather than later.

Then again, she might be doing just that. The initial look in her eyes, the one that had let him know she come face to face with death, was a telltale sign that she was wielding an inner battle none of her friends could help her with.

He could understand such a scenario. Those kinds of battles, the ones where you wrestled with the whispering shadows that threatened to pull your soul down into oblivion, were something he was well acquainted with. The dark demons had governed him for the great majority of his life until, turned into a demon himself, he had finally found the drive to exert his control over them in an excruciating display of willpower. They hadn't entirely disappeared, they never would, but now he knew better: it wasn't the darkness that reigned over him; it was the other way around.

As such, Gaara dispassionately wished Sakura luck... because someone in her position and with such vulnerability creeping just beneath the surface, she was going to need it.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"You are aware," Tenten commented, "that he's just doing it because he's planning something."

Naruto laughed at her suspicious expression but couldn't contradict her words. He looked up towards where her brown eyes were glaring. "True but at least we're at close range if he drops a weight on his foot because he can't hold it up."

Gaara was exercising by himself at the other end of the room, absorbed in what he was doing and quietly going through the movements of his routine. From this distance it seemed he was keeping to the limited weight he was supposed to be using. But knowing the devious redhead, Naruto had reasons for being concerned.

"If it lands on his foot, he deserves it," Tenten remarked wryly.

Sakura was lying on the mat-covered floor next to them, her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of Gaara from her current position. Her injured leg was propped up on an exercise ball she was moving back and forth with her foot, stretching her knee as she did so. After having changed into shorts and a t-shirt, she had been more than willing to begin her physical rehab right away.

Looking up at Tenten, she couldn't help grinning at her friend's demeanour. "Does he really misbehave so much?" she asked.

"You have no idea," the brown haired woman replied. It seemed she was about to say something more but a call from Lee interrupted her. Her next massage patient had arrived. With one last pointed glare at the exercising redhead, she turned round and went down the hall to greet the woman.

When Gaara had ceded his time with Naruto voluntarily so Sakura could start her physical therapy, the pink haired woman had thought him considerate. The staff of the clinic, however, thought it amazingly suspicious. The ex-marine had just stood there, looking indifferent, waiting for them to realize that there really wasn't a reason why he couldn't go about his routine by himself. Since Naruto would be in the same room, they finally conceded. While working with Sakura on some beginner exercises, the blond kept glancing up towards Gaara every so often. He'd done nothing suspicious for the time being.

Smiling inwardly, Sakura thought he had volunteered because he honestly wanted some time for himself during his rehabilitation. From what she had discerned of the man, he seemed like a very reserved person, someone who resented other people tampering with his life. And effectively, the enthusiastic physiotherapists of the clinic had been doing just that. Sakura thought the man just wanted some peace and quiet for a change.

"He's kind of introverted, isn't he?" she asked Naruto, signalling with her head towards Gaara.

Her friend, who was sitting next to her on the floor, chuckled in response. "You could say that... until he loses his temper. You should see him then! He can be pretty loud and unreserved with his opinion when his leash snaps."

"Has he really given you guys so much trouble?" she asked once more, correcting the movement of her leg when Naruto gestured her to. From the way they treated him so familiarly Sakura suspected they'd been exaggerating Gaara's mischief.

"Not really if you think about it relatively," the blond confessed. "The patients who come here exhibit all kinds of different levels of frustration because of their circumstances. Everyone expresses it in some way and some more than most. Gaara just fits into the violently expressive category. But given his background, it's not unexpected."

"Oh?" Sakura inquired, unable to hide her curiosity. "I heard Tenten mention he was in the military."

"Yes, he was," Naruto replied. "He was part of this shady project conjured by some high ranking officials; some sort of special corps or other. From the things he's told me, he went through some rather brutal experiences. So yeah, having him throw a violent fit in the middle of rehab is just standard procedure."

"I could tell his shoulder had surgery," she commented, "and pretty extensive too if those skin grafts are anything to go by."

The blond chuckled. "Trust you not to miss anything. Yes, his shoulder was more or less destroyed. But I won't go into any details. If you want to know, you're going to have to ask him," he finished with a grin.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not sure if he'll want to share things with me."

"Nah, I think it'll be easier for you than it was for me," Naruto admitted. "Both of you are going through a similar experience, so there's got to be places where your perspectives are bound to meet. You know very well that patients talking to other patients about the problems they share helps them cope better."

Sakura sighed loudly, knowing her friend was absolutely right and knowing exactly what he was hinting at. One could never underestimate the benefits of catharsis. Problem was, she wasn't willing to talk about her situation; she'd been assuming the attitude of an oyster in regards to her accident and all the consequences that had come with it. Some things were best to be dealt with on one's on. Sakura was well aware it was illogical but something inside her told her that if she gave the mayhem inside her a voice, it would devour her whole. So no, she simply wasn't ready to tell the world how close she had come to losing it all.

Knowing her so well and having lived through so much with her, her friend recognized her hesitation for what it was. "You don't have to go into any detail, you know. Just small chitchat helps with the everyday frustration. It was partly the reason why I forced Gaara into talking to me. I could see the seething rage within him building up and he wasn't doing anything to alleviate it. And like you said, he's rather reserved about his life and wasn't about to go talking to anyone, especially other patients. He would only see it as a weakness. So I took it upon myself to crack him open...and I succeeded. It was tough, I can tell you that, especially with the things he told me. But it was worth it all the same. Now he walks around being his moody, temperamental self but he's not in any danger of exploding and hurting himself or anyone else."

Sakura recognized the wisdom in Naruto's words but she simply couldn't bring herself to let go of her misgivings; at least not now. However, she did promise to take it one step at a time and see where the road would lead her.

"You said it was partly the reason," she remarked. "What else made you approach Gaara like that?"

Now it was Naruto's turn to look thoughtful. "I'm not sure how to describe it. The day he walked in through the door it was like I already knew he was going to show up. I'd never seen him before in my life but when he was suddenly there, standing by the front desk, looking like he had no idea of where to go or what to do, it felt natural to walk up to him and introduce myself. Not that he was gracious about it," the blond added with a chuckle, "he was as gruff and impudent as could be. But somehow I wasn't deterred by it, something I know caught him off-guard. He'd been washed up by the current to our door only to find that none of us here at the clinic had any problems with his bad-tempered disposition."

"Sort of like being deposited into life's 'lost and found' unwillingly... not wanting to be found but being found nonetheless," Sakura remarked thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Naruto conceded with a smile, "something like that."

"No wonder you guys are so fond of him," she remarked. "How long has he been in rehabilitation?"

"Two months now."

Sakura eyed the redhead out of the corner of her eye. "And how much has he progressed?"

But Naruto saw right through her ploy. "He's progressed some but you know very well that recovery varies greatly from person to person. So no, don't go comparing yourself to him just yet."

She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"Now come on, warm up's over! We can move to other exercises now." He stood up swiftly and held out his hands to help her up.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

A few days later, Sakura lay sprawled on the queen sized bed in her hotel room. She was completely exhausted and her injured leg was throbbing from the exertion of the routine Naruto had put her through that morning. Still, she was feeling completely satisfied with herself, happy at the progress she had made. She had known from the very start that the whole process would be slow going, so when she started feeling the strength returning to her unused muscles and ligaments, she couldn't help her heart from skipping a beat with joy.

Naruto had noticed the look of triumph on her face and rejoiced with her. But he also let her know that they still had a very long way to go and that sometimes results took a while to manifest. Sakura took it all in stride, knowing very well that he was right. It didn't prevent her from thriving in her first victory, though. It gave her all the motivation she needed to keep going. If she kept this up, she wouldn't need to wear her knee-brace anymore soon enough.

Of course, there were other aspects of her therapy that hadn't gone exactly as planned. It was thoroughly frustrating to have to struggle through simple exercises she wouldn't even have noticed before. But as Neji told her, there was no point in comparing her knee to what it had been once; it would only bring her insurmountable amounts of frustration. This was what she had to deal with now and all she needed to do was concentrate on making it better. The present was all there was.

His advice had gone a long way for her and not just because of her knee. Sakura would replay Neji's determined voice inside her head whenever she was overcome by thoughts of 'what if'... it was this sort of thinking that would keep her awake at night the most. What if she hadn't answered her phone when she had? What if she had simply hung up and rejected his invitation? She knew him very well to know he was up to no good. Or worse yet, what if she hadn't tried hard enough to pull him out of his fury-induced frenzy? Lives could have been spared if she'd been able to do so.

No, working herself into an anxiety fit because of those 'what ifs' wouldn't do her any good. It was just like Neji said: the present was all there was. She would focus on the here and now. Nothing would stop her from being able to walk on her own two feet again.

Her cell phone beeped. She lifted it up to find a message from Naruto, asking her if she'd like to come over for dinner. Sakura smiled at his ploy to try to get her to stay at his house. It was certain he was asking her over so they would settle down after eating and she would fall asleep on his couch. Once she stayed over a night she wouldn't be able to leave. So yes, she would accept his invitation but would force him to take her out for desert afterwards so he would come and drop her off at her hotel.

Having her staying at a hotel grated on Naruto, she was very much aware. Nonetheless, since he shared his house with two other roommates, Shikamaru and Kiba, she wasn't exactly willing to room up with all three of them despite her being friends with all of them. Shikamaru was a lazy bum that never did any cleaning around the house and Kiba's dogs were always all over the place. Not that she minded the mutts, they were lovely creatures; nonetheless, having to fight them from jumping up on her in her crutches wasn't something she wanted to do on a daily basis. Not to mention Naruto's natural penchant for chaos. It was a testament to the workings of the world that the house was still standing after all of them had lived in it for more than a year.

So no, she desperately needed some peace and quiet while she worked on her physical recovery. Sakura had lots to think about and she preferred to do so in a place where she could cry, rage and vent without anyone coming up on her unawares. Not to mention that she didn't want any of her friends worrying about her when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night because of her nightmares. Even though it didn't happen as much as it used to, she still woke up yelling her head off from time to time.

Hence, her solitary room suited her just fine.

Besides, it was the perfect place to take naps. As was to be expected, her physical condition was certainly not what it used to be. She ended up completely exhausted after a few straightforward exercises. This was obviously due to her injured leg so there wasn't much room to complain. It didn't come as a surprise that she would arrive at her hotel and not have enough energy to take a shower first. The shower came _after_ the nap. Her rehabilitation needed a certain rearranging of priorities.

Her phone beeped again. 'Gaara's coming too', Naruto informed her.

And it was a good thing too. This meant there was less of a chance that Sakura would make the mistake of falling asleep on his couch. If Gaara was there he would distract Naruto. Meaning the blond would leave Sakura alone and wouldn't prod about certain details in regards to her accident that he'd been meaning to ask about and she'd been avoiding like the plague.

Mainly about _his_ comatose condition back at the hospital and the odds of him ever waking up. Truth be told, there wasn't much to tell. But Sakura knew Naruto wouldn't stop his questions there. So yes, having Gaara coming over for dinner was a very good thing indeed.

Of course, Sakura wasn't sure how the standard procedure in physiotherapy worked when it came to inviting patients over for a meal... even if said dinner would most likely be just hotdogs and fries. Still, from what Naruto had said about Gaara, the redhead didn't exactly fall into the patient category anymore. She'd gone over all the things her blond friend had told her about the redhead and of what she'd mentioned about life's 'lost and found'. Funny how sometimes the people who meant the most seemed to show up randomly and for no reason at all. And in a blink of an eye, bam! They became completely indispensible.

It'd happened that way with Naruto, back in the fifth grade. From one moment to the next he was in her life, the loud hyperactive boy that was made to sit next to her in an attempt to better his appalling grades. His academic record didn't improve, no matter how many times Sakura dented his head; nonetheless, their friendship had solidified for life since the moment she'd passed him an answer to a question on a piece of paper. Just like that, he'd arrived never to leave again.

Gaara, it seemed, had pulled a similar trick on her friend. Even though she didn't know him very well yet, she was very aware that Naruto had an uncanny ability when it came to judging character. So despite his ill-natured exterior, Sakura was certain there was something about the redhead her loud friend empathized with. And all of them trusted blindly in Naruto's ability to read people; it was the one thing he'd always excelled at. As a result, Tenten, Neji and Lee had caught on quickly, treating Gaara like if he'd always belonged.

And maybe he always had... he just hadn't arrived until now.

Slightly puzzled of where this unexpected train of thought had led her, Sakura shook her head to clear it. All in all, she was glad of the redhead's general presence: it meant Naruto's overwhelming energy would not be focused exclusively on her recovery. Even though he'd promised to back off if she ever felt he was becoming overbearing during her rehabilitation, Sakura simply didn't have the heart to push him away; not after all he'd done for her. So having Gaara around proved to be an unexpected advantage.

From the looks of things during the past few days, she had all but confirmed that the redhead saw her in a similar light. Sakura was sure she'd seen him breathe out with relief whenever she showed up and swerved Naruto's or any of the others' attention her way. It seemed that her arrival at the clinic had brought about an opportunity of welcomed reprieve for Gaara. He was left to his own devices, at least for a while, something that he seemed to be grateful for.

As a consequence, Sakura hadn't had an opportunity to engage him in conversation much. He stuck to himself when given the chance and he didn't speak at all unless someone from the clinic's staff went up and talked to him. He wasn't in any way approachable either; the usual vibe of arrogance and disdain he gave off deterred even the most outgoing rehab patients from saying anything to him. It was only his physiotherapists who weren't affected by it. Sakura promised she wouldn't be deterred by his demeanour either but since he more or less cut a hasty retreat away from Naruto whenever she showed up, they'd only exchanged a few words.

But it seemed she might be able to change this somewhat during dinner.

Forcing herself up from the bed, she grabbed her crutches and stood. If she knew anything about Naruto, he'd be pounding on her door to pick her up half an hour earlier than he'd actually said. His enthusiasm was something he really should learn to curb. As such, there was nothing left to do but rummage through her suitcase for something decent to wear.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Dinner, as it turned out, was a pizza and a movie. Gaara had arrived to find Sakura already digging into a slice and Naruto mulling over what film they should watch. The redhead outright refused to watch anything romantic, throwing a warning glance Sakura's way. Surprisingly enough she wholeheartedly agreed with him, prohibiting Naruto from making them sit through any of the chick flicks she knew he had stashed away in his DVD collection. Even though the blond said he'd bought them for any ladies he might bring over to the house, Sakura knew very well he was a die-hard sentimentalist at heart.

So yes, she and Gaara very much preferred to watch something with action in it. The kind of movie that didn't involve any thinking and that you could follow using half your brain. Thus, the first building block of their alliance was established. It was further strengthened that night when Gaara realized Sakura didn't like black olives in her pizza and consequently proceeded to stash every single one of them she found on her slices unto his. His stomach had very much approved of this notion; black olives were some of his favourites.

Sakura had called for ice cream after the movie and Naruto, being the glutton he was, simply couldn't turn her down. As they jumped into the blond's four-door pickup truck, Gaara had asked if this was what their diet usually constituted of. The two of them had laughed, telling him that no, sadly life didn't allow for them to eat pizza and ice cream every day... even though they wished it did. When inquiring why he'd asked that question, it was Naruto who answered Sakura, informing her that Gaara had more or less been a military recluse for the past ten years. She caught the warning look in his eyes, letting her know that for the redhead, casually sharing pizza and ice cream with acquaintances was very much a novelty. Keeping this in mind, Sakura veered the conversation accordingly.

While they sat at a nearby malt shop, she asked Gaara if he'd travelled during his time in the military. It turned out it was the perfect question to ask. Gaara seemed to unwind in front of her eyes, more relaxed than she'd ever seen him in the week since she'd arrived. He told them about the different places he'd been and of the different people he'd come into contact with. Naruto's curiosity was instantly peaked and along with Sakura, they badgered Gaara with all kinds of questions about the numerous places he'd visited. Of course, the two of them utterly avoided asking him why he'd been to those places and what kinds of missions he'd had to perform during his stay. In a similar fashion, the redhead also refrained from sharing such details. But he was unreserved in regards to some of the amazing things he'd done, like travelling with a group of nomads across one of the tallest mountain ranges in the world or witnessing spectacular sunrises over the dunes of an endless desert. All three of them were so absorbed in the conversation they didn't notice the malt shop was closing until the owner came up to their table to herd them out.

Naruto couldn't believe the time. He'd ushered them into his car, depositing Sakura and her crutches into the back seat in a hurry. "Both of you should be sleeping," he told them severely, assuming his physiotherapist tone of voice, "the two of you have a morning appointment at the clinic tomorrow."

Gaara and Sakura groaned in unison. They'd completely forgotten. Of course, this didn't stop them from placing all the blame on Naruto; if he was the one who was going to give them therapy in the morning then he was assuredly the one who was supposed to keep track of the time.

Hence, when the redhead showed up at the clinic the next morning after his usual jog and saw a very sleepy Sakura sitting on one of the waiting room chairs, he didn't hesitate in sharing the coffee he'd just bought with her.

"I'd give you an energy drink," he told her as she sipped the dark liquid, "but Tenten would wring my neck. She's utterly opposed to the stuff."

Sakura swallowed and instantly started coughing. "Damn, this stuff is strong!"

The redhead smirked at her. "Of course it is. It's military morning vintage," he told her mockingly.

"What did they want to do to you, kill you?" she replied. Thanks to her coughing fit, she was completely awake now. Talk about concentrated caffeine.

His grin became self-deprecatory. "I don't think you'd want me to answer that question honestly," he told her, taking a sip of his morning elixir.

Sakura grimaced, knowing very well she'd stuck her foot in her mouth. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," he replied in that indifferent tone of his. He rummaged through the paper bag he'd deposited on his lap. "Did you eat breakfast?"

She groaned in reply, clutching her crutches as they rested against her knees. "I didn't have time! I woke up late and barely managed to make it here," she said with a note of desperation. "She's going to kill me if she finds out and you know very well she always knows when you're lying."

Gaara nodded, his eyes darkening. "It's even worse if you lie. She just won't shut up," he remarked sullenly. He stuck his hand in the paper bag and brought out one of his cheese filled croissants. "Here," he said, handing it to her.

Sakura blinked at the proffered pastry. "Are you sure?"

"Just take it. If you don't eat anything, she'll give you an hour-long sermon and I'll be in the next room listening to all of it." His gruff manner was evidence enough that he wasn't thrilled with the possibility of that happening.

She couldn't help chuckling at his dismal tone. Tenten really had badgered the redhead almost to the brink of insanity. "Thanks," she told him, taking the croissant and biting into it hungrily.

And with that, their alliance was officially sealed.

They ate quickly, getting rid of any evidence of their impromptu meal before Lee walked up to usher Sakura into one of the rooms. For the time being, she was getting thermal therapy before and after she her routine with Naruto.

As she walked by the massage room, it was Tenten's cue. "Did you eat breakfast?" she unavoidably asked.

"Yes," Sakura replied enthusiastically.

"What did you eat?" the brown haired woman inquired.

"A croissant." As she spoke, Sakura turned round towards the waiting room, gracing Gaara with a triumphant wink and a grin.

It was a completely inane gesture but it made the redhead's lip curve upwards in genuine amusement. He continued to survey her closely for a few moments as she made her way down the hall using her crutches.

What a strange woman she was, so full of mirth yet with so much anguish hidden behind her eyes. All through the week since she had arrived and especially all through the night before he had been keenly aware of her vulnerability; it was like a second shadow that clung all around her no matter how hard she tried to disguise it. But he had been impressed at how she managed to push it back enough so it didn't prevent her from genuinely enjoying her time. Gaara had openly wondered if she caved under the pressure as soon as she was alone in her hotel room with nothing to distract her.

Did she cry by herself, raging against the world when no one else was around to hear? Did despair overwhelm her when she was alone, opening an endless void underneath her feet, one she couldn't help falling into?

At such thoughts, Gaara, who had been indifferent in regard to Sakura's background, suddenly felt the curious urge to learn her story. He felt a surging curiosity to find out just what kind of skeletons she kept hidden in her closet...

Even though he very much doubted they would ever compare to his.

* * *

><p>Gimme your comments!<p> 


	3. Solidifying Spectre

**A/N: **Yes, shame on me for not keeping my update schedule. In defence, I have to say my muse was threatening me with mutiny if I didn't do as he said. So I was forced to change my chapter order and write some parts of this from scratch when I was about to log in to update the fic. On top of that, my muse decided to do this on a week when I had to hand in a couple of written assignments for school.

But _whatever_. It's finally here.

It's Gaara's turn in this chapter (for those of you who were asking for his POV!). Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter III – SOLIDIFYING SPECTRE<strong>

**~xxx~**

There was a shout followed by a female screech and his instincts, honed after so many years of living perpetually on edge, kicked into gear. His leg muscles tensed in readiness, waiting for a the imminent signal that would send him propelling into action and to do whatever it was that had to be done: incapacitate or eliminate. No questions asked. Just like his mind had been programmed to obey without hesitation, his body had learned to do the same.

But the surprising sound of laughter muddled up his reflex response. The female shout abruptly dissolved into a fit of giggles and Gaara was jolted back into the present. He blinked, bringing his eyes into focus as he watched a group of teenagers crossing the small park plaza where he was sitting at. Three boys and two girls, they were involved in some sort of playful banter; one of the boys was apparently teasing one of the young girls, an action that had elicited the scream that had triggered Gaara's keen instincts. They were all currently laughing at her reaction and she was blushing somewhat at having shouted for nothing.

Reining in his charging impulses, the redhead managed to subdue the adrenaline already coursing through his veins. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever be able to get over the fight or flight responses that had been ruthlessly drilled into his head. After living so many years fearing for his life and seeing everything as a direct threat, Gaara wasn't sure he would ever be able to move past it. Not when such lighting quick reflexes had saved his hide more than once.

Nonetheless, he was aware this particular attitude was completely out of place in the urban and sedate scenario he was currently living in. The worst that ever happened around Konoha were pickpockets riding people of their belongings or cars getting stolen. Maybe a kidnapping and a murder every now and then but nothing that could ever compare to the extreme scenarios Gaara had lived through. Finding a bloodily murdered corpse was something he had experienced numerous times. So no, there wasn't much in the city that would merit the reaction of his extreme survival instincts.

Being aware of this didn't mean he could help himself, though. As he watched the middle-school kids move towards the other end of the plaza, it was evident they had no clue they had been close to being maimed. The girl who had screamed, in her blissful teenaged ignorance that narrowed the world down to school problems and the boy she fancied, didn't have the slightest suspicion of what her wail had almost triggered. Gaara, trained assassin that he was, had been ready to snap the boy's neck if he'd proved to be a real threat.

He let out a deep breath and forced the tension out of his limbs. Lifting up the almost empty can of iced coffee in his hand, he took one last long sip before throwing it into the bin right next to the bench where he was currently sitting. Truly, he wasn't made for this urban sort of life. The military had made sure he would be useless for any kind of living that didn't involve highly dangerous situations and extreme violence. But the armed forces be damned; he wouldn't allow them to steal the rest of his life from him. They'd already taken enough.

Hence, Gaara exposed himself deliberately to public places where he would encounter all sorts of people. He brought such situations down upon himself on purpose, learning to control his impulses through practice. After having brought his rampaging demons under control through sheer strength of will, there was no reason to think he wouldn't be able to succeed in this new venture. By placing himself out in the open he forced himself to adapt and to learn by careful observation. If he submitted himself to the everyday living of Konoha's citizens he would be able to become accustomed to city life. It had worked so far and his kill-or-be-killed responses had been successfully held back. As a matter of fact, he was getting better with each day that passed. He no longer furtively checked for bombs whenever he used the bus and he was no longer suspicious of people carrying bulky backpacks.

It was, in his opinion, a great improvement. Overwriting the modus operandi of his life for the past decade wasn't easy but he was sure he'd be able to pull it off. Besides, it wasn't as if he had much to do otherwise. He could dedicate himself fully to his personal adaptation project.

The redhead leaned back against the bench and looked once more towards the group of school kids that had just passed. They had stopped at a taco stand and were standing in line, talking animatedly to one another and making a hell lot of noise. They couldn't be more than what... thirteen, fourteen? They were living the pinnacle of an untroubled and happy-go-lucky existence.

Unlike Gaara who, at that same age, had murdered his uncle with a kitchen knife.

He chuckled darkly at the memory, unable to prevent the past from trickling through the cracks in his inner barriers.

Admittedly, just like the Judge had deemed, it had been in self-defence. But this didn't erase the fact that he had murdered the man who had raised him... the man he had considered more than a father. Yashamaru, his mother's twin brother, had been the only person in Gaara's childhood who had shown any sort of fondness towards him. Having lost his mother the instant he was born and being abandoned by his father just a few years afterwards, Yashamaru had been appointed caretaker of the youngest of the three orphans the man had left behind. Gaara's older siblings had been sent to live with other relatives and he barely saw them, resulting in an estranged relationship between them during their childhood. The knowledge that their mother had died while giving birth to him had never been hidden from Gaara; consequently, he had been forced to deal with the resulting guilt of such an event from an early age, no matter how misplaced it had been.

Decades and many ruthless experiences later, he now realized he was as blameless for his mother's death as the next person. But back then he'd carried the responsibility of Karura's demise on his small shoulders wherever he went. Yashamaru had been the only ray of light in his otherwise dismal and lonely childhood.

Of course, little did the young redhead know that his uncle had never truly recovered from his twin sister's passing. Her death left him mentally unstable and he developed a complete dependency on drugs in an attempt to keep functioning. Gaara always knew his uncle was strange; he would sometimes lock himself in his room for days but he would always emerge, smiling and acting like he always did. There was always food in the pantry and the little redheaded boy learned to cook and clean for himself; not that making instant ramen had been at all difficult. His uncle may have been eccentric but he treated Gaara nicely and never interfered with his life.

How desperate for love he had been. With a wry smile, Gaara shook his head in remembrance; he had been starving for affection, something that had led him to consider his uncle's neglect as liberty. With his chronic depressions, it was a miracle his uncle had been allowed to take care of a young child. Then again, his mother's family had never really given a damn. As long as Gaara was out of the way and completely out of the picture, everything was fine. Sweeping the unwanted remains under the rug was always the easiest solution.

It was, unfortunately, inevitable for the bubble to eventually burst. Yashamaru was a ticking time bomb, counting down the seconds until he exploded. And he did. To this day the redhead wasn't sure what had triggered the foreseeable reaction; most likely it had been a lethal mixture of psychotropics and booze. Gaara came home one afternoon when he was thirteen and Yashamaru, hiding behind the doorframe, had lounged violently at him.

Gaara received a terrible beating from his uncle; he didn't defend himself because he didn't understand what was going on. It was until Yashamaru had begun screaming incoherencies about Gaara being a murderer that the boy had been able to put the puzzle pieces together: his uncle, just like everyone else, blamed him for his mother's death. At this point, the redhead's notorious temper proved to be his saviour. Yashamaru had produced a kitchen knife from his belt and was attempting to stab him. Gaara unexpectedly retaliated and tried to wrench the knife from his grasp; he succeeded thanks to the strength his fury lent him but when his uncle lounged towards him once more, the young boy screamed in rage and threw his hand forward, stabbing Yashamaru through the chest.

Those 5 minutes of charged stillness that he lived with his dead uncle lying in a puddle of blood next to him were the terrible quiet before the raging storm that was about to beset his young life. The neighbour, after having heard the ruckus, finally had the courage to look into the house to see if everything was alright.

Police interrogations, lawyers and family tyrants suddenly invaded his existence. Weeks went by in a blur yet Gaara couldn't bring himself to feel anything. He had descended into a state of utter numbness where no emotion registered and his errant thoughts led nowhere. His mother's family bickered back and forth, unsure of what to do with him. He was dispatched to relatives living far away only to be sent away again in a matter of weeks. No one wanted anything to do with him; not only had he killed his mother but he had now murdered her twin brother as well. He was anathema for all of them.

It was his older sister, Temari, who proved to be his saviour this time around. He hadn't seen her in years but when she showed up to live with him and the old great-aunt he'd been finally consigned to, she proved to be his lifeline. She was finishing high school back then but she was more than willing to go all the way for the baby brother she felt had been taken away from her. It was thanks to her efforts that Gaara and his brother Kankurou finally came to be on speaking terms.

It was through Temari that Gaara learned that not everything was as he'd initially thought. His siblings, just like him, were more or less prisoners of their mother's totalitarian family; they didn't hold any grudge against him, not really. They had been kept separated because it had been the family's decision and they had had no say in the matter. As she brought him back to life with her gruff yet affectionate disposition, Temari informed Gaara that all he needed to do was make his way through school; once she turned twenty-one she'd be able to claim him and become his and Kankurou's legal guardian. She was sure their family would be more than happy to relegate them to her. All they had to do was endure for a few years and then all would be well; no one would be able to separate them again. They were now finally together after many long years of estrangement and could rely on each other for strength.

But the damage had already been done. Gaara's mind had already taken as much as it possibly could and even though his sister's newfound love proved to be a much needed haven for him, he'd already fallen for the call of the demons that dwelled within him. At fifteen, he was a molotov cocktail of rampant hormones and repressed fury... and his wick had already been lit. All the rage he had held back during all the harrowing years of his childhood finally came forth and demanded an outlet.

Gaara had always hated the term juvenile delinquent but he had to admit he'd pretty much fit the description back then. Even though he never got caught committing any serious crime (he was too smart for that), he admitted he fell among a thoroughly bad crowd. Temari spent more time getting him out of scrapes than doing anything else. What made it even worse was the fact she never blamed him for anything he did; she did scold him until his ears were on the verge of falling off but she never truly condemned him for his actions. She would just look at him with her angry yet understanding eyes, pleading for him to stick to his school work and not do anything stupid. It was almost too much for Gaara to bear; her eyes saw straight through him and into the bleeding core of his soul. But he was too young to understand her warnings and, in truth, he couldn't care less about his future. If he met his end sooner than later then all the better. He knew very well he wasn't wanted anywhere so if he were gone, then it would be better for all parties involved. So he continued with his twisted way of life, uncaring about the consequences in his adolescent haze.

For better or worse, news finally got around to his family about his misdeeds. Temari tried to shield him as much as she could but her efforts proved in vain. After a couple of years of running wild, Gaara was threatened with banishment to a correctional institution which was, in more direct terms, a juvenile prison in everything but name. Running out of options and not wanting to be a burden to his sister anymore, he took the only choice he thought was left to him: joining the military.

Two days after his seventeenth birthday, he signed his name on the dotted line of the recruitment form. His mother's family was more than happy to give consent, finally able to wash their hands of him and shipping him off to a premature death. He welcomed the chance to meet the Reaper straight on and Gaara took to his military preparation like a duck to water. It was after his initial training that he was singled out by some high officials and presented as a candidate for the Phantasma Brigade, a section of the military that didn't formally exist.

He'd been instantly approved and once he joined, he stayed there, mindlessly killing and accomplishing highly dangerous missions. Until the very encounter with Death he had been yearning for showed up years later and pretty much pulverized his shoulder.

Therefore, in essence, the nickname Tenten had picked for him wasn't exactly correct: he'd never truly been a marine. But he wasn't about to disabuse her of her misconception. It was better for her, and everyone else, to think he had been a marine at some point. Even though they knew he'd been involved in a shady military project, there was no reason for them to know all the details. Only Naruto had been privy to that information and Gaara knew the blond wasn't about to tattle. The pained look in his blue eyes when the redhead had shared some of his experiences was a testament to that.

Besides, if they ever found out the truth, he was certain it would result in even more incessant attention. He already received enough of that from his physiotherapists, thank you very much. Gaara was barely coping with their meddling as it was. Shaking his head, he pondered the absurdity of it all. It just went to show you how much he had actually changed since his younger days that his life now mainly consisted of failed attempts to avoid the continuous harassment of a bunch of daft specialists.

All in all, he guessed he preferred this than existing solely as a ruthless killing machine.

As if summoned by his train of thought, his cell phone rang and Lee's name lit up the screen. Gaara groaned before he picked up; he was greatly tempted to ignore the call but he knew it was useless. Lee would just keep calling until he picked up, not caring if he left twenty missed calls on his phone in the process.

"Yes?" he answered curtly.

"Gaara, hey!" Lee greeted enthusiastically. "The military hospital called just now. You're up for your check-up next week. I reviewed your therapy schedule and you're free Tuesday morning."

The redhead snorted at the news. It was all a pointless facade; the military just pretended to care about the injured soldiers that were forced to retire to maintain a good public image. They wanted to make it look like if they were giving all of them follow-ups. In truth, they couldn't care less of about how he was doing. If it hadn't been for his own personal initiative to get physical therapy he never would have recovered his arm's movement at all. But hell, it was better to get it over and done with.

"Alright," Gaara replied, "I'll get back to them."

"No need! I'll give them a call back for you and set up your appointment," Lee said. "I'll set it up for Tuesday then. Oh, and by the way, Naruto said he'll come with you."

"No, he won't," was his vehement reply. "There is absolutely no need for him to be there."

"Of course there is!" Lee countered brightly. "He's the one in charge of your rehab program. He'll be able to inform the doctor about your progress."

"I don't want any of you informing anyone of-"

But Lee cut him off. "Darn, gotta go! One of Neji's clients just arrived and I need to prep up the ultrasound for him. I'll make your appointment ASAP. Make sure you get here on time this afternoon, alright?"

"I'm _always_ on time," Gaara snapped angrily. But Lee had already hung up.

Grinding his teeth, the redhead brought his temper under control. Now they weren't only his physiotherapists, they were his secretaries and unwanted escorts. There really was no end to their pestering.

Standing up from the bench as he put his phone back in his pocket, Gaara started making his way across the park. He might as well get something to eat before going back to his apartment to change for his late-afternoon exercise session with Naruto. As he rounded the path, he saw the group of middle-school kids again; they were sitting around the rim of a fountain as they ate their tacos. He walked past them without sparing them a glance, not envying their place in life in the least.

Gaara much preferred to be where he was, free of the angry haze that had hounded him for most of his youth. Those kids still had a long way to go before really learning anything about life. He didn't envy the long road ahead of them one bit.

After having walked down his own bumpy ambages across the years, he much preferred the present than the past. He'd already been jolted forcefully awake and now, with his eyes fully open, it was time to regain the life he had once forsaken.

Rolling his shoulder as a reminder of how close he had come to achieving his juvenile death wish, Gaara couldn't help but smirk wryly. His injury had placed him on a direct path towards the physical therapy clinic he was now, like it or not, a part of. Circumventing it had never really been an option; once he'd shown up at their door, he'd never be allowed to leave. He saw that clearly now. So he had to swallow his complaints and try his best to recover from his injury with the help of a raving group of people who persisted in including him in their lives.

Maybe it was the workings of fate; he honestly didn't know. But if it was destiny pulling his strings, he had to admit one thing: fate really had a twisted sense of humour.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"You are mentally deranged," Gaara said, his voice dripping with incredulity.

Sakura couldn't help a bark of laughter from escaping her lips at his surly disposition.

They were sitting on one of the comfy sofas out on the terrace overlooking the clinic's back garden. Both of them had just finished their respective exercise therapies and were waiting to receive the last treatment before calling it a day. Gaara was waiting for Tenten to give him his post-workout rub down and Sakura, much to the redhead's astonishment, was waiting for Neji to prepare an acupuncture session for her.

"I save you from Lee's chronic enthusiasm and you repay me with an insult?" she asked in mock dismay.

"When you spared me from his obsessive impulse to fry my shoulder with whatever heat-inducing equipment he happens to have in his hand, I was unaware of your propensity towards masochism," he replied in a serious voice.

His tone only helped to increase Sakura's amusement. "He doesn't fry it, he just tries to help. It _is_ his job, you know; you want to make sure you get what you paid for."

"I may pay for the ultrasound and massages as well as for the exercises but believe me, I am not paying for the heat therapy," he informed her fervently. "I am clueless as to why he decided it was part of my program."

Sakura snorted at his aggravated tone. Trust Lee to go the extra mile for a special patient. What Gaara was failing to appreciate was the fact that he was receiving treatment without actually having to pay for it; it seemed his unique place among the clinic's clients wasn't something he was exactly aware of. Or maybe he knew but decided to ignore it.

"It's like he enjoys tormenting me," he finished saying in a deadpan voice.

Then again, like he'd just confirmed, he saw it as a nuisance.

The roseate haired woman couldn't help chuckling, even if this elicited a glower from the redhead.

"I see my discomfort gives you amusement," Gaara told her nastily.

She raised her hands in front of her in a placating gesture. "It's not your discomfort," she hastily added, "it's the fact that you're unaware of just how special you are around here."

"Special?" His tone of voice made it clear he thought she was out of her mind.

"Yes, special," she insisted, "you don't see Lee running around after other patients so much. And you definitely don't see Tenten bark out orders to other clients as she does with you. Neji doesn't insist on offering acupuncture to others when they're clearly afra-"

At the dangerous narrowing of Gaara's eyes, she immediately rectified her word choice.

"- when they clearly aren't interested in the treatment, yet he tries to convince you almost daily," she finished.

Jade eyes stared at her with a curious blank look. "If all you just described is considered special, I want no part of it," he exclaimed. "I think you just managed to convince me that I really do need to change clinic."

Sakura laughed heartily. "No you don't, no other clinic would be so flexible with you and you know it."

He was about to deny this but he seemed to think twice about pursuing that particular discussion. "You're evading the subject," he told her instead. "We were discussing your propensities towards masochism. I had no idea you enjoyed experiencing pain so much."

"Don't be silly!" she replied with a wide smile. "It doesn't hurt at all."

"He _sticks_ the needles into your skin," Gaara remarked emphatically, as if she wasn't aware of what the treatment implied. "He literally turns you into a human pincushion."

"No he doesn't," she told him. "The treatment involves the body's energies and activating nerve impulses and..." She stopped herself short at his sceptical gaze. "But then again, Neji must have told you all that already."

"Yes and I wasn't particularly convinced by it," he informed her. "What I fail to understand is why an intelligent woman like you would submit herself to such an abominable treatment."

Sakura's laughed loudly at that, making the other patients using the exercise room lift up their faces towards them for a moment. "Why, thank you," she replied when she could finally find her voice, "I think that's the first time I've heard you say something nice about anyone. I feel flattered that you think I'm smart. Just don't let Neji hear what you think about his family's traditional practices."

Gaara's lips curved upwards, the first sign of amusement he'd shown since they'd sat down. "I only give compliments when people deserve them."

"Ah, then I feel doubly complimented," she quipped in answer.

After having successfully broken the ice between them in the two weeks since she'd arrived, Sakura was finally finding out why the others enjoyed being around the redhead so much. With his cynical and contemptuous disposition, he was impossible not to tease. What was more surprising was the fact that he didn't seem to mind the teasing either. He more or less took it as his due; it seemed he saw it as a necessary penalty he had to endure after having made the decision to surround himself with the raging maniacs that ran the clinic.

Sakura was certain he'd never expected to enjoy himself so much in their company. This was the reason why she found herself delighting in his rare smiles, like the one he had on his lips right now, so much. It was as if during his harsh life, made evident by the perpetual scepticism with which he viewed the world, he'd never found much cause for enjoyment. From time to time she would remember Naruto's remarks about the many years he'd spent in the military and how in some way, this was the first time he was truly experiencing the better things life had to offer.

Despite them coming in the form of a crazy team of physiotherapists and a crippled medical researcher. It just went to show you how strange life could work sometimes.

On top of that, Gaara's straightforward manner was truly refreshing. No matter what his opinion was or what effects it might have, he never balked from expressing the truth as he saw it. Sakura guessed this was also another reason why everyone in the clinic had taken a liking to him. Gaara didn't pretend... he simply was. He didn't hide his brusque manner and he certainly did not try to conceal his cynical view of the world. He was authentic despite his eccentricity and there was something to be admired in that. The redhead wasn't out to convince people to like him; they saw what they got and if they didn't approve, then to hell with them.

He was shaking his head at her, as if he still couldn't believe she was going to submit herself to Neji's torture. "Suit yourself," he told her, slumping back on the couch, "don't say I didn't try to warn you."

"You'd be amazed at the results of alternative treatments," she informed him. "Acupuncture does have centuries of tradition and knowledge behind it."

Gaara made a rude noise, making it very clear of what he thought about her opinion.

She just smiled in response.

Imitating his pose, she leaned back on the couch and breathed in deeply, getting her limbs to relax. Her injured leg was stretched on the small coffee table in front of them and was throbbing slightly after its exertions. But it was a durable pain. It was improving more and more as the days went by. Even though the ache hadn't disappeared completely, it was lessening and it was something she was very thankful for.

The two of them shared a few minutes of easy silence before Neji came to fetch them both. As Sakura stepped back into the big room, she surveyed the surroundings for a crouching-and-ready-to-pounce Lee before signalling to Gaara that the coast was clear.

They had found a surreptitious ally in each other, a discovery both of them had come to genuinely appreciate when it came to dodging the overzealous dedication their physiotherapists were wont to display on occasion. Mostly, Sakura saved Gaara from the worst of Lee's helpful attentions while the redhead helped her escape Naruto's unrelenting insistence that she would be in better care if she were staying at his house. Both of them had come to a sort of silent agreement and whenever they found the other being badgered, they would intervene to the best of their ability. Sakura's interventions had prevented the redhead from strangling the excessively enthusiastic Lee while Gaara's blunt interruptions had kept Sakura from denting Naruto's head with one of her crutches.

It was a strange sort of solidarity they shared in their attempt to regain the physical abilities they had lost. As if in their battle against the great odds they were both facing, they could only rely on someone in the same predicament. No matter how hard they tried to convey their position, no one outside their situation would be able to understand their perspective.

It was also the reason why Sakura's heart clenched painfully when Gaara proceeded to demonstrate one of the temper displays he was so infamous for that very same evening.

The clinic was closing and since they were the last of the patients there, the staff was already busy putting everything away for the night. As both Sakura and Gaara made their way down the corridor towards the entrance, Tenten asked the redhead to carry her satchel bag filled with her stuff since she had some boxes she had to put away. Gaara had casually reached for the bag but had done so with his left hand.

Unexpectedly, his shoulder had given way as he tried take on the bag's weight. His fingers had released the bag without him ordering them to as a streak of pain surged down his arm. Through a haze of disbelief, Gaara saw the satchel bag fall to the ground as if it were moving in slow motion, its flap opening as it hit the floor and Tenten's belongings spilling unto the corridor.

At the sound, Naruto and Lee had looked up from what they were doing while Tenten and Sakura just stared at the bag on the floor.

Silence stretched for a few seconds before the redhead exploded in a shout of rage.

He cursed soundly, striking the wall next to him with his right fist.

"That wasn't even half the weight I lift daily!" he roared, his face contorted with wrath.

Sakura saw Lee cringe at the shout. Tenten opened her mouth to reassure him but he was beyond listening. He hit the wall with three consecutive strikes, each one so forceful the roseate haired woman heard the concrete reverberate. His left arm hung uselessly at his side as if mocking the strength he was displaying with its opposite limb. As he lifted his right hand one final time, Sakura saw he had broken skin and his knuckles were bleeding. An icy gleam shone from the depths of his jade eyes as uncontrolled fury at his deficiency overcame him.

And standing next to him, there was nothing Sakura could do to appease him. All she could feel was a void in her heart because she knew exactly what it was to feel so inadequate and useless. There were no words of comfort she could express; whatever came out of her mouth would be a lie and he would know it.

Naruto was coming towards them, his face set in a determined expression as he openly scolded the redhead. But Gaara would have none of it. Cursing the blond and shoving him out of the way, he stalked his way down the corridor and out of the clinic. He slammed the door behind him with such force Sakura thought the windows overlooking the street would break.

Tenten covered her eyes with her hands. "That was amazingly stupid of me," she remarked.

"No it wasn't," Naruto told her. "He said it himself: the bag doesn't even weigh half of what he usually works with. It's just his shoulder having a bad day."

"Yes but-" Tenten began to say but the blond cut her short.

"But nothing. You know very well this sort of thing happens all the time. It doesn't mean he's regressing in the least. He pushed himself too hard and his shoulder's tired."

The brown haired woman nodded, knowing Naruto was absolutely right.

"Want me to go after him?" Neji offered. At Gaara's shout he had emerged from the back of the clinic where he had been closing the garden doors.

"No, I'll go," Naruto said, arranging the strap of his own satchel bag over his chest. "You guys close up here and Lee, you're in charge of dropping Sakura off."

"Sure thing," Lee replied.

"Will he-," Sakura started to ask but stopped midsentence, unable to finish her question. Her emerald eyes were bleeding concern.

Naruto smiled. "Yes, he'll be fine," he told her. "It's not the first time he explodes like this or the first time his shoulder has given way. He'll pull through. Just like you will pull through when it happens to you."

He finished by yanking a strand of her pink hair playfully.

She responded by swatting his hand away and glaring. Deep inside she desperately wanted to believe his words, for both Gaara's and her sake.

"See you guys tomorrow," Naruto said, waving behind him as he hurried down the hall.

Sakura saw him step out onto the street and fall into a run, disappearing in the direction Gaara had gone.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Things around him were just a blur of motion. He relied on his sharp instincts to avoid bumping into anything or anyone as he walked down the street. Of course it helped that, after one look at his face, people avoided him openly and gave him wide berth.

Gaara's rage was absolute. It distorted his perception, reducing the world to splotches of red haze as he made his way down the street. But unlike before, when he would allow the crimson mist to rise only to find himself covered in blood when he came to, he was able to control his fury. The wrath no longer had power over him and he focused it where he wanted.

And right now it was focused on himself. He couldn't believe his shoulder had faltered like it had... _again_. He had promised it would never happen once more, that he would work on it steadily to avoid such relapses. But here it was, behaving like if it were some sort of entity outside his body with a mind of its own. Gaara was aware that this sort of thing happened; Kami-sama only knew how many times Naruto had lectured him about regressions like this. As his body learned to cope, it would inevitably for it have bad days. His rational mind understood this but it didn't mean he had to like it. Whenever his arm would give way and belied the strength he had been slowly building up day after day, all the redhead could hear were the voices of the military doctors echoing in his mind.

_You've kept your arm but it'll be useless._

Even though it had been a medical miracle that he'd been able to keep his limb, it still hadn't been enough to make him whole again.

_He's just a killing machine... he's no good now that he's a cripple._

His only purpose in life was to belong to Phantasma; he had given up his soul to it a long time ago. It was the only place where he could give full vent to the desolation-driven apathy that governed his life; the only place where he could act out his killer instincts fully without facing any consequences. But he was no longer any good for that anymore. As he lay on his hospital bed while caught up in the after-effects of heavy duty painkillers, he'd regretted not having been killed by the same bullets that had ruined his arm.

_A cripple._

He could feel the bullets piercing his skin, feel them as they made contact with his bone and shattered his joint into pieces. A few inches to the right, his heart beat soundly, unaware it had been his enemy's intended target. Gaara remembered falling to the ground, barely managing to keep conscious as the mind-splintering pain overwhelmed his entire body. But as he refused to lose his grip on consciousness, he'd managed to lift his own gun and shoot the man responsible for his devastating injury. His enemy had been hiding behind a fire-lighted truck, one of the many barricades of the forsaken city Gaara had been ordered to infiltrate. He remembered the man's face as he fell to the ground in front of him after having shot him. A look of peace had overcome his features in death as the bloodied rebel ceased to care about his brainless leader and the pointless guerrilla war he had been fighting on his behalf. As he lost his own grip on the world, Gaara was overcome with envy and desperately wished he could do the same before everything before him descended into darkness.

Surprisingly enough, his wish had been granted. Here he was, no longer at the beck and call of the war-mongering generals or the greedy political leaders who had trained him to be the most efficient kind of killing instrument. For the first time in his life, he was being viewed by others as something else than a tool and was being considered in a completely different light: as a person.

As this thought crossed his mind, his rage abruptly dissipated, leaving as rapidly as it had come. If he was completely honest with himself, he knew very well he couldn't resent his injury in the least. It had brought him to where he was now: to a place where people actually laughed and teased him instead of running away from him in fear; to a place where he could speak his mind and not be disliked because of it; to a place where he could be himself even when he wasn't sure of who he actually was.

No, he couldn't begrudge his shoulder anything; especially not when he had brought it all upon himself. He was the one who had signed away his soul to the military. He had thought it was the only option left to him at the time but now, more than a decade later, he realized that hadn't exactly been true. As a matter of fact, the military had been the easy way out for him: a place where he wouldn't have to make any conscious decisions about his life and where he could dance with death in an attempt to lure it into taking him away. But it hadn't, in the end. Life had other plans for him. After years of being buried underneath his frenetic destructive impulses, the soul he had given away had unexpectedly stirred. It had begged him to stop before he lost it entirely.

Strange that it was only through death that he had been finally willing to cling to life.

The inward call of his being had allowed him to dispel the red haze of fury and to finally see what he was doing. It hadn't been a pretty sight. Therefore, if the way out had come in the form of an injured shoulder, he wasn't about to complain. With the atrocities he'd done, it was a small price to pay.

Gaara finally came to a stop, lifting his head to see just where the hell he was. But before he could approach the corner to read the street signs, he heard a loud familiar voice calling out to him.

"Finally ran out of steam, you big dolt?" Naruto exclaimed as he caught up with him, panting heavily. "Boy, you were charging through the streets like a locomotive on steroids."

The redhead glared but the look in his eyes wasn't as sharp as it had been back at the clinic. "What I do is none of your concern."

"Oh yes it bloody is," Naruto informed him matter-of-factly. "We both know I take better care of your shoulder than you do."

Heaving out a deep breath, Gaara didn't reply. He looked out towards the passing traffic and the lights of the establishments on the other side of the street, refusing to meet the blond's eyes.

Naruto simply shook his head. "And here I thought you were going to behave better because Sakura was around," he teased.

His jade eyes whipped around to glare at him. "Well, you thought wrong."

"Evidently," came the blond's reply. "You really have no idea of how to behave around girls."

Gaara snorted. "And you obviously do," he retorted with dripping sarcasm.

"Of course," Naruto replied cheerily. "I always treat them with respect."

"Not bloody likely," he said vehemently, "I've heard you curse Tenten a dozen times."

"Meh, she doesn't count," the blond replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Really?" Gaara asked, unconvinced. "And why is that?"

"To start off I've known her forever and second, she's a co-worker."

"And that makes her any less a girl?" the redhead inquired in a tone that made it clear of what he thought about Naruto's intelligence.

The blond looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Keep in mind that whatever your answer, I'll be sure to inform Neji of it," Gaara threatened.

Naruto closed his mouth with a click, knowing very well that if he criticised his girlfriend's qualities as a female, the acupuncturist would end up sticking needles in sensitive places he would rather keep intact. After all, he was looking forward to having children at some point of his life.

"Whatever," Naruto finally mumbled.

The redhead had the audacity to look smug, as if he considered exposing one of Naruto's logical loopholes a personal victory.

"Well, now that you've finished trampling about the entire neighbourhood, how about we get something to eat?" the blond asked pointedly.

"Fine," Gaara answered in a grumpy tone. "I assume we'll end up having ramen."

"You assume correctly," Naruto replied, a huge grin spreading on his lips. "And it'll be your treat since I had to follow you on your stampede."

"I didn't ask you to follow me," the redhead retorted angrily.

"And how the hell was I supposed to make sure you didn't do anything stupid?" he asked. "Besides, Sakura was worried about you."

This seemed to give Gaara pause. He mulled the words around in his head for a moment before deciding to go back to the previous, and much safer, topic. "Fine. Where do you want to eat?"

This elicited a whoop of triumph from Naruto. He'd just won a free meal! If this was how Gaara was going to react, he would have to pull the 'worried Sakura' card on him more often. He was aware the two of them had gotten off on the right foot and had seen them sitting by themselves at the clinic on occasion. It had come as a relief to him to realize they had found someone to talk to in each other. Naruto was aware of the benefits this would bring to both their recoveries. Of course, he wasn't about to mention this to the redhead; he might just take it the wrong way and avoid Sakura altogether. Gaara could be amazingly contrary whenever he got stubborn about something.

"I know a really good place around here," Naruto finally said, leading the redhead in the opposite direction of where he had been going. "It's just around the corner."

"You _always_ know of a really good place," Gaara countered.

"Of course, I've spent my entire life looking for good places to eat in this city," the blond replied cheerily.

Grumbling something not very flattering under his breath, the redhead proceeded to follow him down the street.

* * *

><p>Reviews are always more than welcome!<p> 


	4. Doorways Between Past and Future

**A/N:** I know you're probably tired of hearing of my excuses for the delays in my updates but I just can't help making them. Got loads going on and loads on my mind lately.

So here's an extra long chapter for you all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter IV – DOORWAYS BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE<strong>

**~xxx~**

By the time her deodorant, along with her hair brush and moisturizing cream, hit the tiled floor Sakura realized she was in for a tough day. She'd almost slipped... twice.

The first time she'd almost lost her grip on her crutches but had rallied. The second time she hadn't been so lucky: undressing while trying to keep your balance on a single leg was always rather tricky. She was always careful and had become rather adept at managing it. But this fact wasn't useful at all whenever her knee decided to act out. She was standing in the middle of the bathroom, pulling off her pyjama pants when the world suddenly started to tilt. In an attempt to regain her balance, she had reached out to grab whatever solid object was within reach and knocked over all the items on one side of the sink. Fortunately, she just barely managed to get a tight grip on the mirror cabinet and successfully averted ending up on the floor.

She'd been awake a grand total of 15 minutes and her frustration levels were already hitting the roof.

By the time she sat on the toilet lid and managed to undress properly, she realized her bad leg was going to give her hell today. Not that it hurt or was any different from what it had been last night. All the improvement Sakura had made since starting physiotherapy couldn't be overlooked. It was just that sometimes, whenever the smallest thing proved to be too difficult, the aggravation at her condition would hit her like an incoming bullet train.

Grinding her teeth, she refused for it to get the best of her. She was so sick and tired of crying... so fed up of having to deal with the aftermath of this whole damned mess. It was times like these when she wished she could just switch off her feelings and concentrate solely on recovering her physical abilities. Becoming an automaton had its alluring aspects, she had to admit.

Her brooding moment was short lived though. Right after she finished dressing in her sweat-pants and tank top, ready to tackle another morning of rehab, she heard an impatient knock on her bedroom door.

Before she had time to grab her crutches and make her way out of the bathroom, an annoyed voice made itself known from the other side of the door.

"It's me, open up!" Naruto announced brusquely. From the tone of his voice Sakura realized she wasn't the only one having a tough morning.

"What are you doing here?" she asked when she finally unlocked the door to let him in.

The blond stormed into the room, flailing his arms in agitation. "The idiot went to get his check-up without me!" he exclaimed. "His appointment was for tomorrow but he changed it without telling any of us."

Naruto made his way towards the bed and started pacing across the short expanse of the room. "I can't believe him! He knew I was supposed to come with him!"

"Wait, wait," Sakura said, lifting one of her crutches and poking him on the leg so he would stop moving. "Who changed what without informing you?"

"Gaara," her friend replied through clenched teeth. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to throttle the redhead. "He had one of his regular check-ups at the military hospital this week."

Sakura's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh yes, he did. He wasn't at all happy with it, either. I heard Lee remind him of the appointment the other day. "

"Yes, and I was supposed to go with him but the moron called up the hospital himself and changed the appointment Lee had made for him," Naruto informed her, his hands fisting at his sides. "I'm in charge of his rehab, I have a right to be there when he gets examined!"

Sakura smiled wryly. She very much appreciated the blond's concern but couldn't help seeing things from Gaara's perspective as well. It was evident that the last thing he wanted was for Naruto to butt in during his check-up.

"So I went up to the military hospital just now but the bastards wouldn't let me in!" he kept saying. "They said that if I wasn't visiting a patient or if I didn't have explicit authorization, I couldn't go inside. Idiots!"

'I'm sure Gaara was counting on that', Sakura thought but wisely kept her opinion to herself. "Did you stop to think that maybe he doesn't want to involve you in all this military stuff?" she asked instead.

"What a load of bull!" Naruto exclaimed. "If that's the case then he's going to get an earful from me when I finally get my hands on him."

Sakura shook her head, approaching the bed so she could sit down and put on her trainers.

When the blond saw her reach for her shoes, he knelt down to help her put on her socks. Given that she'd been about to go over the edge with frustration just a few minutes before, Sakura breathed out with gratitude at her friend's thoughtful gesture. At any other moment she would've most likely boxed his ears for helping her but today she desperately needed the support.

If Naruto thought it was weird of her to accept his help without any resistance, he didn't show it. He was too busy fuming over Gaara's transgression. "The idiot will most likely screw up his check-up and won't say squat about how much he's improved. And it's been all on his own! I was supposed to be there to set those military snobs straight."

Sakura couldn't help but chuckle. "For what it's worth, from a doctor's point of view, his improvement will be rather evident. His shoulder will speak for itself."

Naruto growled at this as he finished tying her shoelaces. He moved to her other foot and helped her get her other sneaker on. "I really hope so. Those bastards have no idea how hard he's worked to get where he is."

"I'm sure Gaara couldn't care less about that," Sakura replied. "He just sees the whole thing as a hassle."

"Hassle will be what I'll give him when he finally shows up at the clinic!" Naruto exclaimed. Finally finished with Sakura's shoes, he got on his feet and reached out towards her to help her stand.

"All and good," she told him, "but that still doesn't explain why you're here this early knocking on my door."

"I had to vent with someone, didn't I?" he answered gruffly. "Besides, your hotel was on the way back from the damned military hospital. I was obviously going to stop and give you a ride."

"Alright then. But if you're going to give me a lift, then you're buying breakfast," she informed him.

"Fine," he said, handing her her crutches. "The gods only know I need a distraction."

She smiled at him as she went over to the small desk of her room where her backpack was resting. A few minutes later she was ready to go and Naruto was herding her out the door.

As they waited for the elevator, she tried her best to divert her friend by engaging him in casual conversation. Nonetheless, in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder how Gaara was doing and how his check-up would turn out.

She really hoped it all went well for him.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"Impressive," the doctor remarked in a genuinely amazed voice. "Most impressive. When they told me you had regained much of the movement of your arm, I was certainly not expecting this. It'll definitely give us at the board much to talk about."

The man looked at Gaara with a keenly interested gaze, something that didn't sit well with the redhead. He'd been given that look before; it was similar to the leer a lab rat would receive from the scientist who was about to carry out an agonizing experiment on it.

"Well, you're good to go," the doctor finally informed him after a silent moment of deliberation. "I'll be looking forward to your improvements next time."

With that, the man picked up his clipboard and made his way out of the small examination room, leaving Gaara to dress by himself.

He pulled up his jeans hurriedly, wanting to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. He had already spent enough time here while he was recovering. Those months had been more than enough to last him a lifetime. The quicker he was out the door the better. There was nothing but bad memories for him in this hellhole.

Finally pulling on his shirt, Gaara opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. The smell of sanitizer, illness and pain made its way up his nostrils and filled him with repulsion. On the way to the fifth floor he had come across numerous patients recovering from all kinds of brutal injuries. A man in a wheelchair missing his two legs, a woman with a disfigured face being led on a bed towards a surgery room... he'd come across these and many more. This had been the landscape he had been forced to see every day during his convalescence. The true wreckage of military conflict lived within these whitewashed walls, not in the bureau of the high commanders. After being part of it for so many years, the redhead couldn't stomach to be immersed in it more than it was strictly necessary.

But his hospital visit had a rather unexpected surprise in store for him. As Gaara hurried down the hall and passed several doors, he heard a voice hail him from within one of the rooms.

It sent a surge of recognition so intense his battle instincts came surging up without him willing them. The reaction stopped him dead in his tracks, triggering a change in his perception and he began to unconsciously survey his surroundings for anything that might be a potential threat.

It was what his existence had been solely about when he'd been around that voice. In his mind, he could easily hear it laughing and making loud exclamations while in the heat of bloody battle.

Senses on the alert, Gaara backtracked until he was standing in the doorway of the room. He took in the sight before him with wide eyes: the man who had spoken was propped up in a hospital bed, half sitting with one of his legs up on a mechanical sling. The cast on it went from his ankle up to his waist. His arms were bandaged and his face heavily bruised but the blond hair and the wild gleam in his light blue eyes was unmistakable.

"Deidara," Gaara said, stepping fully into the room.

He received a laugh in response, even though it sent a visible wrack of pain through the injured man.

"And here I thought the meds they were giving me were making me hallucinate when I saw you walk by the first time," he said. "Thought I'd finally lost it, un. But then you walked by again and damn, I really wasn't seeing a ghost."

"What?" the redhead asked. The sudden bewilderment at the words he'd just heard deflating his raging battle instincts. They settled down but didn't return to their dormant state, not after coming face to face with a previous member of his platoon without any warning.

His confusion only made Deidara's grim smile widen. "It's obvious if you think about it, un. They told us you were dead, rookie."

These words provoked disparate reactions in Gaara. Scorn at the thought of the military lying about what had truly happened to him; it was obvious it was in their best interest for everyone to think he was dead. His ex-comrades in arms were better off believing he was six feet under. But the contempt was quickly followed by a surge of unexpected familiarity at the sound of the old nickname the other soldiers of Phantasma had for him.

Rookie: used in the most sarcastic sense of the word. It had been clear from the very beginning that he was anything but a new conscript learning from his supposed superiors. He'd matched their blood thirst and insanity from the very start, plunging head first into the world of chaos their platoon existed in. He wasn't there to learn anything from anyone; as a matter of fact, some of the older soldiers had learned a thing or two from him in regards to fearlessness.

Memories of when he'd been first tagged with the nickname flitted across his mind inevitably. Deidara's grin did nothing to stop him from remembering. It had been that smirk that had triggered everything in the first place. When Gaara had been initially assigned to Phantasma, the veterans of the unit had decided to have some sport with him. Namely, Deidara had tried to beat him up. He'd partially succeeded but hadn't counted on the ferocious reaction on Gaara's part. The young redhead had returned every punch and kick, aiming his attacks with sheer viciousness. If it hadn't been for Sasori coming to Deidara's assistance, the two of them would have probably ended up killing each other. From that incident onward it was clear Gaara was where he belonged: in a group of maladjusted young men who harboured out of control death impulses and who had nothing to lose. In any other circumstance they would have been labelled as criminals but in the military, their destructive tendencies could be put to good use. Gaara was accepted into their brotherhood of death from the very beginning... or as much as one could be accepted in such an unhinged group. One way or the other, his fate had been sealed.

"Not that we believed anything they told us," Deidara was saying, taking advantage of the redhead's momentary bewilderment. "Just like Kakuzo said, it'd take more than a shot through the heart at point blank range to get rid of a mean bastard like you."

"It wasn't through the heart," Gaara replied, finally finding his voice. "It went through my shoulder. Obliterated my entire joint."

This elicited a bark of laughter from the injured man. "Luckier than the Devil himself. The Reaper always did look at you out of the corner of his eye."

Gaara openly scoffed at this, shaking his head. "What about you?" he asked, gesturing at Deidara's condition.

"Like I said, the Reaper always takes care of his devoted acolytes," he replied.

"Now you're starting to sound like Hidan," Gaara remarked with dripping scorn. It was uncanny how he automatically reassumed the pattern of interaction he'd thought he'd never experience again.

Deidara chuckled at the mention of the religious fanatic. "If I could move I'd beat you to a pulp for that remark but we'll just have to leave it like that, un. Besides, as things stands, I guess I can't take offence to being compared to a dead man."

"Hidan's dead?" the redhead asked. It was clear he didn't believe it for a second but Deidara's tone made him pause.

Deidara sneered at him. "Well, if he's not then he really was one of Jashin's favourites after all."

Jade eyes narrowed at this and before he could help himself, Gaara walked up to stand next to the bed, his arms across his chest. "What happened?"

It occurred to him that he was falling back into his old military attitude with a little too much ease. His stance, his tone of voice, his mind waiting to be briefed on events: it was as easy as donning a familiar cloak. It was something he wasn't at all happy with but the long years of habit weren't easy to get rid of, especially not when he had been caught unawares.

Deidara seemed to notice this as well. He surveyed Gaara with a keen look and grinned slightly but he didn't make any remark in that respect. "What the hell are you doing looking down at me like that?" he exclaimed instead. "No one looks down at me and you know it. If you're going to listen then you'd better sit down, rookie, or I'll knock you off that cloud you're riding."

He gestured to a chair across the room, placed near a table the nurses used. Gaara shook his head in disdain but walked over to bring the chair next to the bed. As he did so, he noticed for the first time that there was someone else in the room with Deidara. As distracted as he'd been at finding one of his ex-platoon companions, he hadn't really noticed there was another man on the bed a short distance away.

One look was enough: even though the man's face was greatly disfigured and he was completely unconscious, the red hair, so much like Gaara's own, along Deidara's presence were enough to trigger recognition.

"Sasori," Gaara said in a deadpan voice, stopping in his tracks for the second time in the last few minutes.

"Un," Deidara acknowledged. "The bastard's out like a light. A chunk of the falling debris got him right in the head. Lucky for him though. He's not feeling any of the pain." With that, he gestured grimly towards his leg.

"Is he in a coma?" Gaara asked, unable to hide the unease in his voice.

"Dunno," the other man replied. "The doctors won't tell me squat and the nurses are all a bunch of tight-lipped idiots. But he did wake up once or twice so I don't think he is. What I'm sure no one knows is if he'll be himself once he comes out of it. He cracked his skull in three places. You should've seen the lump on his head when we were flown in... it was like he was growing an extra head." He finished with a slight chuckle at the memory.

Once again, a flood of unwelcome emotions surged through Gaara. Here he was, feeling unanticipated concern over a couple of men who would have outright killed him if he'd ever dared to show any weakness in their presence; just like he would have done if it'd been the other way around. There had never been any bonds of camaraderie in their platoon: the only connection between them was the orders they were given and the missions they needed to complete. Anyone who fell behind or couldn't cope was a liability, meaning they were better off dying sooner than later. A soldier who couldn't adapt was only a problem for the team and would only slow them down. As such, there hadn't been any room for something as useless as friendship in their world. They were companions in bloodshed and nothing more.

This fact made his surprise over his concern all the more poignant. He really shouldn't be _feeling_ anything at all for these men. As a matter of fact, he should be walking out the door, indifferent to whatever happened to them.

What the hell as wrong with him?

But it was too late now. He was already riding the momentum so he picked up the chair and brought it back next to Deidara.

The injured man proceeded to give him a recount of events.

It had been a simple enough mission. Infiltrate and demolish the headquarters of a guerrilla group; preferably when the enemy soldiers were sleeping in it. It was nothing the Phantasma platoon couldn't handle. So they'd gone in a couple of hours after midnight, armed to the teeth and silently killing any of the guards on duty with practiced ease. Deidara, naturally, had been in charge of the explosives. Divided in two man teams, the platoon dispersed and spread the bombs all over the building. Soundless as the spectres they were supposed to be, they were already on the way out when Deidara noticed something was wrong. The detonator in his pocket wasn't giving any signals of life: it had been tampered with. For the life of him, he couldn't pinpoint the moment in which someone could've done something to it. He remembered looking up at Sasori and turning to see Zabuza and Kisame following them some distance behind. He was about to scream for them to hurry the hell up and warn them when the blasts had gone off.

It had been fire and debris accompanied by unbearable pain from then on until a welcome loss of consciousness had finally washed over him. To this moment he wasn't sure how he'd survived, much less how he was found and rescued. He'd come to when he was already on the plane out.

"Hidan was the only one who hadn't gotten his explosives in place yet. He was the only one I hadn't received a radio signal from," Deidara said. "It's rather likely for him to have been holding them in his hand when the bombs went off."

Gaara just stared at him, unable to believe what he'd just been told. Phantasma, ensnared and boycotted? It was unheard of. "What about the others?"

"I'm sure some of them managed to survive. Like they say, no matter how much you clean the garden, bad weeds always keep popping up again," Deidara remarked. "I don't know which hospital they got sent to or where the hell they may be. But I'm certain they're out there. And if they are in one piece, I'm sure they'll be reporting in for duty like the sick bastards they are."

"What of the Commander?" the redhead asked.

"Ah! Answering that question will get you the jackpot. It gets rather tricky when it comes to Pein," Deidara admitted. "He didn't go in there with us. He was in charge of maintaining the escape route clear."

"Making him the first suspect for treachery," Gaara concluded with disdain. It was all rather to evident and simple. "Highly unlikely."

Deidara looked grim. "Possibly... but no one will see it that way, un. All the high officials will think is that the Commander of Phantasma finally lost his mind and killed his men."

"And pigs fly," Gaara replied. Phantasma was Pein's life; it was the sole reason why he existed. He may not give a damn about his soldiers personally but having the men he considered his weapons fail such a simple mission because they were boycotted? It was anathema for him.

"Well, he either went bonkers or..."

"Someone set him up," the redhead finished. "It's probably the reason why you have no idea of where the rest of the platoon is. They don't want you talking to each other."

"Un," Deidara conceded. "We were just pawns, a means to an end. It didn't matter if we died inside that building or not. With all of us in there, none of us would be able to prove if he did it or not. All we have are conjectures." With that, the injured man settled back against the bed, gritting his teeth for a moment while a spasm of pain went through his leg.

"Do you believe he did it?" The question was out of Gaara's mouth before he could help it. For the life of him he didn't know why he was curious to know the answer.

"At this point, I honestly do not know what to believe, With the things I've seen... the things we've all seen, having a group of men being butchered by their leader isn't something that would surprise me. Then again, this is Pein we're talking about," Deidara confessed. But then his expression turned from resigned to amused. "But what do you care, rookie? It's not like it concerns you. You're supposed to be dead."

It was the redhead's turn to sneer harshly. "True," he said. "But if that's the case then why the hell are you telling me all this?"

Deidara fell uncharacteristically silent. He surveyed Gaara silently with his keen blue gaze. "Maybe because of the same reason why you're here, sitting in that chair," he finally said.

Gaara turned to look at him fully then, his jade eyes thoughtful as he took in his battered form. Deidara did have a point: the bizarreness of him being in this room, acting like if he were a normal visitor to an injured soldier was utterly absurd. Especially after the brutal experiences the two of them, along with the other members of Phantasma, had lived through together. Never in their lives would either of them have imagined something like this ever happening. It was the complete inverse of the lives they had led.

The redhead opened his mouth to speak but the injured man beat him to it.

"You look different," he said and Gaara knew what it cost him to make such an admission. "You look...human. I've been trying to pinpoint just what it is but there's just no other damned word to express it. The shroud of the monster is gone. You look like a person now."

And there it was, the issue that had been hanging over his head since he'd stepped into the room and spoken to his ex-comrade in arms. The issue that was making Gaara feel uncomfortable with the reactions he'd been having around a man in whose company he'd once fought and killed. Deidara had felt it as much as he had: there was a marked difference between the two of them now. A breach had opened that placed them at opposite sides of a spectrum despite them having been exactly the same in the not so distant path.

Gaara had no idea of what to reply to that. He had no idea of what to think either.

Luckily, there was no need.

"You need to get the hell out of here now," Deidara told him, eyeing the clock hanging from the wall. "The nurse has to make her round in a few minutes and if she catches you here, there'll be hell to pay."

Gaara wasted no time. He grabbed the chair and placed it back, glancing one last time towards the unconscious Sasori.

"She thinks I'm part of some regiment or other," Deidara was saying, "I mean, Phantasma doesn't officially exist, after all. But if she finds anyone talking to me I'm sure she'll report it and then the shit will really hit the fan."

He stopped speaking suddenly; it looked like if something important had just occurred to him. "Damn, aren't you a lucky bastard?" he finally remarked, grinning. "You're a dead member of a platoon that never really existed. If that isn't a clean slate, I don't know what is."

"Listen, Deidara-" Gaara began to say but the injured man wouldn't have it.

"Get the hell out of here, rookie. I don't know what the hell happened to you or why the hell they let you go like they did but I really don't give a damn," he said. "Just looking at your face is making me sick."

The redhead grinned at this, the first genuine smile that had come to his lips since he'd entered the hospital. Without saying anything, he nodded in farewell and turned on his heel.

"Hang on to that humanity you've found," Deidara told him as he walked out the door. "Hang on to it with your life, rookie, and never look back."

And Gaara did just that. He walked out of the hospital without glancing back, making his way across the bustling streets of Konoha. But the parting words of his previous platoon companion were with him all the way and their unexpected meeting was causing all kinds of havoc in his mind when he arrived at the clinic for his daily physiotherapy session.

As he entered, Naruto pounced on him, a loud retort on his lips.

One look at the redhead's face and the blond's ire deflated.

"I need exercise... NOW," Gaara informed him.

With that, he continued walking down the hall of the clinic and into the locker rooms at the back. He threw his backpack unto one of the benches and turned on the faucet of the nearest sink. Washing his face with cold water, he breathed in deeply and tried to get his thoughts in some semblance of order.

Gaara opened his jade eyes and looked straight at the reflection staring back at him in the mirror.

Hang on to his humanity? It was easier said than done. He had no idea of how to go about it. But by hell, he was going to give it his best shot.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Sakura fought back the tears but couldn't hold back the ruptured dam. She'd been fighting the swelling frustration all day, trying to ignore it as best as she could, but it had finally caught up to her and provoked disastrous effects.

It had been a completely random and nonsensical remark, utterly innocent in its purpose, but it had brought back a flood of memories too overwhelming to shake off.

She knew her friends never discussed the past with the intention of stirring up any ghosts. They had known each other for a very long time and had lived through many experiences together, so it was inevitable to reminisce about long ago moments from time to time. Usually, Sakura would join these discussions wholeheartedly, laughing and sharing her view of past events. But today, with frustration over her condition gnawing at her heels, a particular recollection had been accompanied by a heart-wrenching ache in her chest.

"Remember that time we took the trip to the coast, when Kiba fell off the pier trying to catch Akamaru the Second?" Naruto had asked. "Well, today something similar happened with one of the pups at the house, he..."

But Sakura had blotted out the rest, the pounding in her ears preventing her from hearing anything else.

Of course she remembered.

It had been the day she had finally built up the courage to tell him what she felt... and sitting on the beach overlooking the sea, he had leaned towards her after she had finished speaking and kissed her on the lips.

Sakura had excused herself from the clinic's kitchen table casually, saying she had to go to the toilet. None of her friends had noticed anything wrong with her and continued chatting without sparing her a second glance. She had barely made it to the women's locker room, staggering slightly on her crutches before she burst into tears. Knowing someone might come in at any moment, she hastily made her way into one of the booths and sat on the toilet lid before closing the door behind her.

She cried in silence, swallowing her sobs as the endless tears fell from her eyes. It was something she she had learned to do long ago, when he showed up ragged and worn out at the door of her first college year dorm room, demanding she let him stay the night. He never answered any of her questions and never told her where he went when he disappeared like that, for weeks at a time. He just wanted to get some sleep. Sakura had wept quietly so as not to disturb him, hurt at his callousness but too happy to have him lying next to her in bed.

What a gullible idiot she had been.

The tears kept falling down her cheeks, as unstoppable as they had been back then.

But before she could give full vent to her desolation, the main door of the changing room opened and closed.

Sakura held her breath, hoping whoever it was would hurry up with whatever they'd come to do. But as she looked down at the open space between the booth doors and the floor, she recognized the trainers of the person walking towards the closed door of her stall.

He didn't say anything, only coming to a stop when he reached her door. He turned his back towards it, leaning against the booth as he crossed his feet at the ankles. She could picture him crossing his arms over his chest, a scowl on his face.

He'd been scowling rather outstandingly all day, as a matter of fact. He'd also been giving off prominent vibes that he wanted to be left alone since he'd arrived from the hospital. Making the reason as to why he was here in the women's locker room all the more mystifying.

"Gaara," Sakura said in a watery voice, "Tenten will cut off your balls if she finds you in here."

"She's welcome to try," he informed her arrogantly.

Through her tears, Sakura grinned.

"I'm aware you're a pretty good actress," he told her without waiting for a reply, "and I know your friends can be a bunch of naive morons but I'm not."

"I know," she told him unsteadily.

"And I don't buy that cheery little act you're so intent on putting on sometimes," the redhead continued ruthlessly, "I can tell when it's an act and when it's not, so don't bother pretending with me."

Swallowing past a heavy lump in her throat, Sakura gripped her crutches to keep from sobbing out loud. She wept silently for a few moments before she found her voice again.

"Thanks," she said, "but I really don't want to talk about it."

"And who asked you to talk?" Gaara asked in annoyance. "I definitely didn't."

She let out a chuckle at this despite herself. This was the strangest act of comforting she had ever experienced. Here she was, crying her eyes out in a bathroom booth with a temperamental ex-marine standing outside, gruffly offering her support by remaining silent.

And bizarrely, it was the precise kind of solace she needed.

They remained like that for a few minutes, until Sakura was able to bring her emotions under control. She knew very well that it was necessary to let go of the past and she was attempting to do so... but this didn't mean it wouldn't catch her unawares every so often. In the end, like she had always known, she just had to give herself time. Strangely, the man standing just outside her stall knew what that was like too.

"Alright," she eventually said, "I'm ready to come out now."

"Good," he told her simply, stepping away from the door.

She unlocked it and pulled it open, only to find him staring down at her with a scrutinizing look. As if daring him to make a comment, she stuck out her tongue at him defiantly.

He opened his mouth to say something but the sound of the main door of the changing room opening didn't allow him to voice whatever it was he was about to say.

A ringing shriek resounded throughout the room, followed by an anxious shout.

"A _man!_ A man in the women's bathroom!"

Sakura recognized the voice of Mihama-san, a seventy-five year old lady who came to the clinic to receive therapy for her arthritis with Lee. The sounds of her haphazard escape were clear and Sakura could hear the old dear make her way into the hall as fast as her withered bones could carry her.

Gaara glared at where the old woman had just been standing. "_At least you know how to recognize one when you see one!"_ he roared in retort for the whole clinic to hear.

The roseate woman couldn't help it, she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

She was on the verge of falling on her rear on the floor by the time Tenten reached the door with the momentum of a fired canon ball and all hell broke loose.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"You could have given her a heart attack!" the brown haired woman exclaimed for the hundredth time an hour later.

Like if Gaara hadn't heard her clearly the first time.

It had taken Neji's considerable influence on Tenten to prevent her from clobbering the redhead over the head with one of Sakura's crutches. The fact that he'd been restraining her with an arm around her waist had also helped a great deal.

Naruto, who wasn't holding Gaara in his best graces at the moment, had been suspicious and had demanded to know just what the hell the redhead had been doing with Sakura in the bathroom. Gaara had pointedly glared in response, informing him it had been his female friend who had asked for his assistance in the first place. Sakura had caught on quickly, a surge of gratefulness swelling within her when she realized Gaara was covering for her, and was instantly inspired when she saw the mop and bucket leaning against one corner of the changing room. She explained she had been apprehensive about the floor still being wet after it had been cleaned earlier and had asked Gaara for help. The last thing she wanted was for her crutches to slip since she'd been having a rather clumsy day.

Luckily, the blond accepted this explanation without further protest and proceeded to laugh his head off at the expense of Mihama-san, much to Tenten's aggravation. The rest of them had no problem with it either, and when they found Sakura with her cheeks flushed, sporting a red nose and red-rimmed eyes, they thought it was because she had been laughing like a maniac. Even Tenten had been somewhat pacified when she heard the reason behind Gaara's presence in the bathroom; even though this didn't prevent her from throwing scathing comments at him.

Sakura took it upon herself to apologize to Mihama-san, explaining why it was that she had found a _man_ in the women's changing room. The old lady huffed in response as she sipped the soothing tea Lee brewed for her, saying she understood but she hoped that in the future Sakura would think twice about asking for help from a man in such circumstances; especially from such a big and menacing one.

Gaara had overheard this and was about to voice a suitable reply when Naruto and Neji had timely interrupted him. They had herded him off to one of the back therapy rooms where he was forced to stay until the old lady had finished her treatment with Lee. Of course, Tenten had decided she should give him his massage sooner than later today and had proceeded to have her vengeance.

"You know very well the older clients show up around this hour," she was telling him, "Lee always gives them therapy after lunch."

"How could I have forgotten," Gaara replied, his voice cynical, "it's the time of the day when he puts on that new age music crap. It's because of it that I always end up turning up the volume on my iPod until my ears are on the verge of falling off."

She rubbed his neck rather forcefully in response, making him grimace where he was lying face down on the massage bed. "Don't exaggerate. He never puts the music on loudly. Besides, it helps patients relax."

"No it doesn't," he retorted, "it drives _me_ insane."

"That's because you have no grasp of what it means to relax," she said, markedly poking him with a finger on his bare back. "I've been giving you massages all this time partly because a rub down is supposed to help you wind down. And here you are, as tense as if you were going into combat."

Gaara lifted his face to glare at her. "That's because it bloody hurts!"

"No it doesn't", Tenten countered. "It only hurts when I rub your injured shoulder, not when I do your upper back."

He hated to admit it but the woman was right. It really was hard for him to loosen up. Especially during a day like today when so much had happened. His battle instincts were quivering just under his skin. Nonetheless, he did realize Tenten had a point. He couldn't live the rest of his life thinking there would be someone trying to kill him behind every corner; those days of his life were over. He was supposed to be starting anew, like Deidara had told him.

Damn the man to the pits of hell for throwing him into such disarray! If this emotional chaos was the price he had to pay for regaining his humanity, Gaara wasn't at all sure he was willing to pay it. Especially not when, after following his gut feeling and stalking Sakura into the bathroom, he'd brought down the entire clinic staff down on his head. It was making mistakes like that that would've gotten him killed not so long ago.

As if sensing his thoughts, Tenten softened her tone. "Don't worry, I'm not about to pull a knife on you... even though I was tempted to do so in the bathroom earlier."

Her admission made him grin slightly. With visible effort, he managed to loosen up the muscles of his neck and shoulders somewhat after giving it a try.

"That's better!" Tenten exclaimed happily. "See, you can do it if you put your mind to it. Besides, let me inform you that if you relax like this more often, you'll find that your shoulder will hurt less. It doesn't pay to be tense all the time."

"I'll keep it in mind," he mumbled grumpily.

She chuckled at his dour demeanour.

After a few minutes, when they were finishing up, Sakura suddenly poked her head in the doorway.

"Almost done?" she asked.

"Yes," Tenten informed her as the roseate haired woman entered the room. She gave Gaara one last rub down over his left shoulder blade before proclaiming him ready and stepping away.

He sat up on the edge of the massage bed, stretching his good arm over his head.

Sakura had never actually been present during one of his massages; she was always receiving treatment herself at the time. This meant she had never been privy to the wonder that was the redhead's exposed torso. Suddenly caught completely off-guard, she had to force herself from staring at the impressive display in front of her now. She knew it was an utterly inappropriate response but she just couldn't help it. She was only human, after all.

All those deliciously delineated muscles were impossible not to ogle; they had the perfect consistency: not too bulky and not too lean. She found herself garnering a newfound appreciation for the dedication soldiers had to their physique. Now she knew why Gaara spent so much time with Naruto in the exercise room; the blond was helping him keep in shape while being mindful of his recovering arm.

"Tenten," came Neji's voice as he passed the doorway, startling Sakura out of her reverie. "Could you help me for a minute when you're done with Gaara?"

"Sure thing, love," the brown haired woman replied, "I'm already finished."

With that, she swatted the redhead on his good arm. "Make sure Mihama-san is nowhere in sight before you step out," she told him sternly before walking out the door.

Jade eyes glowered at her after she disappeared out the dooway.

Sakura took the opportunity to pull herself together and steal one last glance at the redhead. Her appreciative eyes, after having their fill, were inevitably pulled towards the surgery and skin grafting scars over his recovering shoulder. They were the only evident sign that there was something wrong with his limb. Even though his left arm was slightly thinner, with its muscles delineated to a lesser degree than his right, it wasn't something anyone would overly notice. One really had to be a keen observer to tell the difference. Sakura wondered how much time it had taken him to regain the muscle mass of his injured arm so successfully.

She was no way near to achieving such a feat. Her injured leg was still evidently thinner and weaker. There was still a long way to go for her. With a determined smile, she approached the massage bed on her crutches.

"Thanks for earlier," Sakura told him, coming to stand by his side.

"Don't mention it," he replied nonchalantly, reaching for the navy blue t-shirt he'd taken off earlier.

A part of her felt disappointed when he proceeded to put it on but she rallied. What she had to say was important.

"I'm aware you didn't have to go to such lengths," Sakura said with a smile. "So I just wanted you to know I really appreciate it."

"I'm sure the last thing you wanted was for Naruto to smother you like the over-protective oaf he is," Gaara replied with a disgusted tone. "He would've been all over you for the rest of the week."

She chuckled at this. "True, but in a way, I guess he has his reasons for behaving like that," she admitted ruefully.

And just like that, an unforced opportunity to speak of her past showed up. Here was Gaara, sitting casually next to her while genuinely understanding her position and her perspective of things; he was not demanding anything after having helped her out of his own free will. In this moment in time he was possibly the last person in the world who would judge her for the things that had happened, for the decisions she had made. A chance to unburden herself of the weight of the shadows she carried around with her was being dangled right in front of her.

But just the thought of voicing things out loud, of giving them credence by putting them into words, was suddenly too much for her. Momentary panic twisted her stomach and tied her tongue. She was overpowered by the thought that Gaara already had enough to deal with on his own... she had no right to impose on his already complicated life.

She gripped her crutches tightly in the silence that had abruptly descended upon them. He was looking at her as if he expected her to say something else, as if he'd felt her momentary disposition to open up. But the moment passed just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Well, I'm off then," the redhead said, sliding off the massage bed. "Don't want to spend another minute locked up in this room because of absurdly backward old ladies."

Sakura half-smiled at his gruff tone, glancing at his back as he walked out of the room.

"See you tomorrow," were the only words she managed to utter before he turned to disappear down the hall.

He lifted his right hand above his head and waved in farewell at her without turning his head.

Slumping against the massage bed he had just been sitting on, Sakura heard him go into the men's changing room to pick up his things. After a few moments he came out again and was hailed by Naruto, who was informing him that the coast was clear of Mihama-san. With a noncommittal grunt, the redhead continued down the corridor, eliciting calls of farewell from the rest of the staff. Finally, as if hearing it from a very long distance, Sakura heard him open the front door and close it behind him.

And she was left there, standing where she was, unable to move backwards or forwards.

It was in this position that Neji found her a long time afterwards, standing there and staring at the empty doorway, as if it held all the answers she'd been desperately searching for.

* * *

><p>Read and review, guys! I'm kind of needing the uplift of your comments.<p> 


	5. Unsteady yet Determined

**A/N: **Having some time off is a bliss. It allowed me to cook up this chapter for y'all quicker than I thought.

As you surely may have noticed, this story is in for a long haul. The tempo I've got planned for it is way slower than my other stuff... so hopefully you'll bear with me. :'D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter V – UNSTEADY YET DETERMINED<strong>

****~xxx~****

"Uzumaki Naruto, if you _dare_ to help me get up I am going to skin you alive and leave you outside for the vultures to find!"

The scream of impotent rage effectively startled Gaara where he was sitting on the edge of the back terrace overlooking the clinic's garden. He'd decided it was the best place to attempt to relax, like Tenten had suggested. At the sound of the angry shout, he whipped his head around, barely recognizing Sakura's voice through the undiluted frustration it was expressing.

She was on the floor, collapsed between the two bars she was meant to be using for support. After a full month of daily therapy, Naruto had allowed her to start putting some weight on her injured knee. Using the bars, she was supposed to cross the short distance and attempt to use her weak leg to walk. The progress had been agonizingly slow and she ended up in pain and utterly exhausted only after trying the exercise a couple of times. They were near the end of their afternoon routine and it seemed her leg had finally given way.

Naruto looked down at her, hands on hips, looking mutinous. It was evident he was making an unimaginable effort to keep himself from walking up to her and picking her up. A mixture of determination and anger was contorting his expressive face.

Her angered shout had brought Tenten out from the kitchen and Lee from his therapy room. Other patients who were also using the exercise room had stopped dead in their tracks.

Uncaring of the spectacle she was making, Sakura glared at Naruto. Her eyes were a pair of flaming emeralds and hot furious tears flowed down her cheeks. She was flushed with anger, fatigue and pain but she was refusing to cave. Lifting her arms, she grabbed unto one of the bars with both hands, attempting to pull herself up. She cried out in pain when she was forced to stretch her injured leg to stand. Naruto attempted to move but she pierced him with her deadly stare once more, instantly immobilizing him. She kept standing, hooking the bar underneath her elbows in a final effort as inch by inch she managed to brace her weight on her good leg. Clinging to the support, the remnant streaks of tears on her face made her look even more resolute.

Looking directly into her friend's blue eyes, she spoke. "He wanted to take it all away. He managed to make me less than what I was... but I'll be damned if I don't get back what he stole."

It was too much for Naruto. Like a ticking bomb reaching its time limit, he exploded. "You are not less than what you were!" he yelled in frustration, uncaring of who heard him. "You never will be less! Don't you get it? No matter what he did, you would never be less because of it!"

Sakura pulled in a deep breath, holding it in and stopping the tears that were threatening to burst anew.

"You've already won," Naruto kept saying, stepping up towards her, "don't you see? You made it out of there _alive_. You've already triumphed over him just by being here today, living and breathing."

She seemed to visibly gather herself. Even though she couldn't find her voice within the swell of emotions within her, Sakura nodded solemnly, acknowledging her friend's words. Breathing deeply a few times, the strain seemed to sweep away from her muscles. She slumped forward and leaned her forehead against Naruto's chest as he stepped up to keep her upright.

The tension from the room dissipated and Gaara watched as Tenten let out a long breath before returning to the kitchen. Lee cast one last concerned look their way before going back to whatever he was doing. In a similar fashion, the redhead turned back towards the garden, picking up the water bottle on the floor next to him and taking a long drink.

He'd wondered just how long it would take for Sakura to snap like that. After getting to know her better as the days passed, he'd come to recognize the vicious temper that lay underneath her pretty exterior. Like the desolation that seemed to always accompany her despite how much she tried to act otherwise, her temper was also something she couldn't completely hide. In truth, he preferred it that way. Gaara had seen numerous other patients who dealt with the frustration of their physical therapy with a passivity that would drive any sane person mad. He had no idea how any of the clinic's specialists dealt with it. It was as if they had lost all their will to fight and continued to stumble forward simply out of inertia. So watching Sakura explode, crying tears of fury at the unfairness of it all, was a very healthy sign in his opinion.

Wrath fuelled by aggravation was something he could understand. He empathized with it fully.

But it wasn't only aggravation feeding her rage. There was something deeper than that at work here; the shielded anguish in her eyes was a testament to that. From the bits and pieces he had been able to discern, the accident that had led to her injury had been perpetrated by someone close to her. An ex-boyfriend from what Lee had hinted at. He'd crashed his car at a ludicrous high speed, with Sakura in it, right into another vehicle with the sole intent of ending both their lives. But he'd lost control of the car at the last moment and his suicidal mission hadn't gone exactly as planned. It had all still ended in a devastating wreck, obviously, but not as he'd intended. Tenten had told Gaara Sakura had thrown herself into the back seat; seeing as they were heading directly towards their death, in a moment of sheer desperation she had thought it would help her chances of survival. But when the car started spinning and came to a catastrophic halt when it slammed a parked vehicle into a street-lamp post, the impact had sent Sakura flying out the corner of the back windshield.

No one had any idea of how it happened but her head had missed the roof of the car by mere inches. In an ironic outcome, the shattering glass had been her saviour: if her head had connected with the metallic car roof, her skull would not have survived the impact.

All because her deranged ex-boyfriend had decided to write a role for her in his demented death act.

And people complained that there were batshit crazy lunatics in the military! In Gaara's opinion, some of them didn't even compare with the nutters running loose out there on the public street.

After the incident in the bathroom, Gaara had asked Naruto about Sakura's accident but the blond had only shrugged his shoulders and told him he was better off asking her directly. But since she had made it evident she didn't wish to speak of it, the redhead knew cornering her was out of the question. He'd told her himself he wasn't going to force her into talking if she didn't want to. But this didn't mean he didn't feel curious in regards to her past. His increasing interest towards the roseate haired woman had made him pause more than once; it just wasn't like him. Nonetheless, since he was giving this 'humanity' thing a shot, he was attempting to overcome his apprehensions.

Gaara knew what it was like to be pestered with questions one didn't like answering so he didn't blame Sakura for not wanting to talk. He knew very well there were things that were better left unsaid. Lately, whenever they sat down for a moment together, there had been a few occasions in which she'd approached him as if attempting to broach the subject. But Sakura always seemed to change her mind. They ended up talking about completely mundane topics instead.

So Gaara had been forced to take an indirect tactic to appease his growing curiosity: he'd turned to the others at the clinic for information. Neji refused to say anything else except that it had been incredibly tragic and upsetting for all of them; Lee only dropped a few vague hints of what had actually happened, preferring to concentrate his theatrical narrative on the courageous efforts Sakura was currently making to regain her ability to walk normally. Five minutes into his rant and Gaara was vowing never to ask the man anything else for as long as he lived.

Surprisingly, it was Tenten who provided the most information. The redhead had thought she would be the most tight-lipped of them all. Instead it seemed she'd been waiting for someone outside their little circle to talk to about the worry she was experiencing in regards to her friend's recovery. It was through her that Gaara learned of the great odds Sakura was fighting against and of the particulars of her knee injury. They were greater than the odds he himself was battling against. His shoulder joint only took on the weight of his arm; knees on the other hand took on the weight of the entire body. But what Tenten also brought to his attention was the fact that Sakura was not only recovering from her physical injuries, she was also recovering from the psychological lacerations left behind by the accident.

From what she'd told him, the psychopath had been the love of Sakura's life at one point.

Gaara wasn't exactly certain of what this implied and he didn't readily believe in all that psychology mumbo-jumbo but at least he understood what had happened in principle: a person who had meant the world to her had tried to kill her.

Now _that_ was something Gaara understood very well. _That_ was a kind of betrayal he was very well acquainted with.

Tenten told him their relationship had always been rather turbulent since the guy had some sort of screwed up family issues (like if that alone made him special, Gaara had thought vehemently; if the prick thought he had it rough he should give living with _his_ family a shot!). In the end, they had gone their separate ways and Sakura had managed to move on. Only for the guy to show up years later out of the blue; he showed up one day, got her into his car and tried to crash it headfirst into another vehicle. That was the gist of it.

From the undercurrents he was picking up, Gaara knew Tenten wasn't telling him everything. But he didn't begrudge her for it. As a matter of fact he was grateful she'd actually shared anything with him at all. All of them had been close friends since middle school while he had showed up just a little over two months ago. He knew he was in no position to demand answers.

Sipping some more of his water, he heard Naruto bring Sakura her crutches before leading her back to the changing room. His jade eyes surveyed the peaceful garden thoughtfully, his mind on the struggle that had just taken place in the room behind him.

From his own personal experience, he knew Sakura's battle was only just beginning. It would take her a whole lot longer for her knee to regain some semblance of what it used to be. He knew what it was like to face such odds: when he'd left the army's hospital, they'd told him he'd never be able to use his arm properly ever again. Due to the extensive surgery he had undergone, his prosthetic joint would never function like his original one had. Gaara had sent them all to hell, though; no one told him what he could or could not do with his own body. The titanium was part of him now and it would very well do what he told it to do.

It had taken some doing but he was finally regaining the muscle he had lost. He was finally able to lift things without pain cursing down his arm and he was finally regaining strength. The struggle had been tough but he knew it was achievable. This was why he knew Sakura could pull it off if she tried... if she continued to push herself and to belie what the medical odds were telling her.

After learning part of her story, the redhead had felt a surge of anger and indignation on her behalf. He had no idea why this was so yet he couldn't help feeling it. For the life of him Gaara couldn't figure out why, but from the murky depths she was currently entangled in, he wanted Sakura to rise triumphant above it all.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Sitting on the window sill of her hotel room, Sakura looked out at the world. The view from the fifth floor offered her a clear sight of the streets, of the passing traffic and of the people hurriedly making their way under the fiery sky at the end of day. With her injured leg stretched out before her as she leaned against the window frame, she sat in quiet contemplation.

It had been another of those amazingly tough days. Her nightmare had visited her during the early hours before dawn and she'd been unable to shake it off completely during the entire day. As a result, its influence had been utterly felt during her therapy session with Naruto. Every step had been harder than usual, each movement she made demanding double the effort it usually did. The sound of scraping metal had been resonating in her ears as she gripped the bars and attempted to take a step towards her future.

When it had become overwhelming and she could hear, smell and feel the metal colliding in a shattering impact, her leg had caved in completely. On the floor, she had seen the pavement underneath her and had felt the blood running down her face.

But she had rallied. Sakura _refused_ to remain on the ground. The anger in her voice when she yelled at Naruto hadn't been aimed at him... it had been aimed at someone else.

'Damn you, Sasuke,' she'd thought vehemently, 'damn you to the depths of hell.'

It had been important for her to pick herself up; it had been essential. She knew Naruto would resent her anger and her refusal but she needed to lift herself using her own strength. If she couldn't achieve such a simple feat, she might as well walk out the door and never come back. And she had succeeded. Sakura had managed to pull herself to her feet despite the tears streaming down her eyes and the fury making her arms tremble.

It was a small yet important victory: it had resulted in something within her inevitably shifting. The words Naruto had spoken to her had helped to push that something inside her the extra inch it needed to fall into place. Through the crimson haze of her rage, she had called forth a part of herself she thought had died with the accident. The young girl who believed and who trusted in her heart unconditionally had stirred underneath the earth she'd been buried under.

Sasuke had effectively strangled that girl with his own hands, digging a grave for her with his words and entombing her with his actions. And Sakura had let him. By agreeing to meet him on that accursed day and naively believing he was capable of changing.

Breathing in deeply to fight back the painful contraction in her chest, she rested her head against the window. She closed her eyes and turned inward, looking for the girl she'd been so many years ago. After venting her rage that afternoon and cursing the man who had done this to her from the depths of her being, she had miraculously felt the girl stir. She wasn't fully awake yet, no. But Sakura had felt her movement even though it had been minute... and she'd felt overpowered by elation because of it.

Hope had overwhelmed her and for the first time in many months, she saw the possibility of reclaiming all she was within the reach of her hand.

It gave her renewed vigour, a bright strength rising from the core of her essence with which to push forward. Even though the worst days of her rehabilitation were yet to come and the frustration would rise to much higher levels, being able to feel that reawakening within was utterly worth it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when cell phone rang, the bright lights of its screen displaying Tenten's number.

If it'd been Naruto she would've thought twice about picking up. That baka would certainly call just to badger her about her feelings and force her to talk. The last thing she wanted was to talk. If she barely understood the jumble of feelings inside her, how the hell was she supposed to voice them out loud?

"Moshi-moshi," Sakura answered.

"Hey!" her friend greeted. "I know you've had a really tough day and all you want is to hide away in your room but I've got an offer you won't be able to refuse: a two for one pedicure _and_ manicure at this salon near our place."

Despite the serious train of thought she had been recently pursuing, the roseate haired woman couldn't help chuckling in response.

On the other end of the line Tenten reflected the sentiment with a giggle.

If there were two women on the face of the planet who never did anything overly girly and who barely ever wasted money in salons, it was the two of them. The tomboys of their class all through their formative years, neither of them had seen much of a point in changing their habits when they'd reached adulthood. They had been Ino's bane all through her life.

"You're on," Sakura replied. Trust Tenten to throw some banal pampering her way to make her feel better. "At what time?"

"I'll pick you up in half an hour," she said, "I've got some dry cleaning I need to drop off for Neji and then I'll be on my way."

"And what will he be doing whilst we while away the time getting pampered?" Sakura asked deviously.

"He'll be fixing the vacuum cleaner. It's been giving us hell for an entire week."

Sakura laughed. "I never would've labelled him a handy man."

"You have no idea," Tenten replied, "it's like he takes it at a personal level if an appliance breaks down and he can't do anything about it."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time my hair dryer decides to die on me," she remarked.

"Lee thinks much along the same lines, he usually brings his stuff over when it breaks down," her friend confessed. "Neji was starting to consider charging him."

"Like the time with the bicycle chain back in school?" Sakura asked.

"_Exactly_ like that time," Tenten answered laughing.

Sakura joined in, feeling suddenly lighter. This was what she needed: the interruptions of daily life, so useless on the surface but so essential where it truly mattered.

"Alright, I'll wait for you in the lobby then," she finally said before hanging up.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Through the taxi window, Sakura saw the tall redhead standing in front of the vending machine, his hands on his hips and his head cocked at an impatient angle. He was wearing his jogging outfit and was evidently on his way to the clinic.

The taxi was making a stop at a red light, a fact that allowed Sakura to witness how Gaara abruptly lifted his foot and kicked the machine forcefully. This called her attention momentarily to his shapely calf; a man with such good legs was something that should never go unappreciated. Even though she couldn't see his face clearly Sakura was certain he was glowering at the felonious machine, as if it could be effectively intimidated into performing the action it was obviously not doing.

She couldn't help grinning at the redhead's expense. Leaning towards the front seat, she asked the taxi driver to drop her off just in front of the convenience store where the vending machine was located. Gaara turned around at the sound of the stopping cab and noticed Sakura paying the driver.

Giving the offending machine one last glare over his shoulder, he unceremoniously stepped up towards the taxi.

"Give me your bag so you can get off," he told her moodily when she opened the door.

She smiled wryly up at him. "Why, good morning to you too," she replied in an overly cheery voice. But she did as he asked and handed him her backpack.

He swung it over his good shoulder as she stepped onto the curb, closing the door of the cab for her.

"I saw you were having a bad run-in with technology this morning," she told him, gesturing towards the vending machine with one of her crutches.

"Bloody thing won't give me my canned coffee," Gaara informed her, his tone so grumpy Sakura couldn't help but chuckle in response. He sounded like a five year old boy on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

"_Iced_ coffee so early in the morning?" Sakura asked, stepping up towards the machine and producing some coins from her jeans' pocket.

"_Any_ coffee this early in the morning," he replied, his face haggard.

It was impossible not to laugh. Balancing on her crutches, she inserted the coins with the quickness of an expert, ordering the same drink he had. As it dropped down, it pushed Gaara's can from where it had gotten stuck and the two iced coffees landed with a satisfying bump. At the sight of his long awaited elixir, the redhead reached lightning quick for the cans, opening his in the same movement and taking a long pull from it.

Sakura just stood there, clucking her tongue at his demeanour.

After he'd gotten a good initial coffee dose, he turned to look at her with grateful eyes and offered her can to her.

She nodded. "I'm going to have one hell of a time walking with that in my hand, so let's sit down." She gestured towards the small bench to one side of the store. He followed behind her, opening her can for her while she took a seat.

They sat in companionable silence, the redhead evidently relishing in his intake of caffeine and Sakura smiling over the rim of her can at him as she sipped. Such moments between them had grown common in the month since Sakura had started her physiotherapy. It was as if they would gravitate towards each other, coming together just to share a few moments of peace amidst the frenzy of their physical recovery. Gaara didn't demand anything from her and she didn't ask anything of him. It was part of their silent agreement, this homeostasis they'd reached. And even though they didn't speak of it, each of them knew they could count on the other.

Nonetheless, since the incident in the bathroom where he had approached her out of his own decision, Sakura had started to feel an even keener pull towards the redhead. It was more than the initial curiosity she had felt about him or the kinship she'd acknowledged with him. It was as if something inside her wanted to lean against him and absorb some of that amazing strength he emanated. And not just in a physical sense; it wasn't all about the fit body he hid underneath his clothes. The strength of will with which he powered through life was something Sakura genuinely admired. No matter the obstacle standing in his way, Gaara would simply overcome it. For him it was that straightforward. He was making a beeline towards his objective and nothing would stop him from achieving it.

She was attempting to do the same thing but she was tripping outstandingly along the way. Even though Sakura was aware everyone had their own way to deal with adversity, she couldn't help but want to bask a little in the influence of the redhead's vigour. But to do that, she felt as if she had to give him something in return. Their agreement worked because they were on equal standing; it was a sort of equivalent exchange. So if she wanted to shift the scales, she needed to offer him something so the balance would be maintained.

But what could she, as jaded as she currently was, offer a man like him?

He would give her strength and determination while she gave him what? Nightmares and tears?

It was utterly ludicrous.

Nonetheless, a little voice inside her mind said she didn't know him well enough to make that assessment. And that was exactly where the crux lay: if she wanted to get to know him better, she would have to respond in kind. If she wanted to know about his life and his world, she would have to share hers in return. It was the basis on which authentic interaction functioned.

Unfortunately, that willingness to share was something she was still working on. But even so, she had to admit she was more inclined towards opening up than she had been before. Trust Naruto to badger her into talking and into expressing some of the turmoil she was feeling. Ever since she had shouted at him the previous week, the blond had made it his personal quest to get her to talk. And as was usually the case whenever he set his mind to something and applied himself to it with stubborn obstinacy, he was succeeding.

Two days ago they had finally talked a little about what she had experienced during the actual accident and about the cocktail of mixed feelings that overwhelmed her whenever she thought of Sasuke in his comatose state. A part of her pitied him deeply while another wanted nothing else than to plug him off his machine with her own hands. She _understood_ where he had come from, she _understood_ the fucked up childhood he had lived and the sick relationship he had developed towards his brother; a distorted bond that had led him to act like he did. She had no problem understanding all that. But it didn't _justify _his actions. It didn't give him the right to treat her like he had during all those years, to cause her so much grief; and it certainly didn't validate the way he had tried to kill her, attempting to take her down with him into the grave he had dug for himself.

Because that was it, wasn't it? She'd been the main opportunity of redemption in his life and he had turned his back on her. He'd turned her down. And when she had finally found the strength to move on and live how she wanted to live, he hadn't been able to cope with it. In his deranged way of thinking, she didn't deserve to be happy while he wallowed in his self-inflicted misery.

'Selfish bastard', she thought vehemently, unaware of the tear that had escaped her eyes and was rolling down her face.

The feel of Gaara nudging her with his foot brought her back to the present with a jolt.

She quickly lifted her hand to wipe her cheek. "Sorry," she said in an embarrassed voice, "I was spacing out there."

"So I noticed," he told her wryly. But his jade eyes belied his tone. There was concern in them, an emotion she had rarely perceived from him since she'd met him.

She suddenly remembered her desire to absorb some of his strength and decided she really needed it in that instant; so she bent a little.

"I know this is going to sound stupid but, have you ever made a mistake?" she asked. "You know, a _serious_ mistake. Something that screwed you up so badly you'd give anything to turn back time so you could rectify it."

Gaara looked at her thoughtfully for a full minute before a self-deprecating sneer appeared on his lips. "Well, I shouldn't have made the decision to go down the blockaded street where the worst of the shooting was going on by myself. That's where I met the poor sod who emptied a whole cartridge on my shoulder and almost amputated my arm right there and then," he told her nonchalantly.

Sakura swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat provoked by the image conjured by his words. It was easy to picture him, in full military attire, his joint pierced by bullets as he fell to the ground while his lifeblood spilled relentlessly from the brutal wound.

"If there was a mistake that screwed me up it was that one," he continued evenly, throwing his empty coffee can in the recycling bin standing next to the bench. "But I'm not sure about the turning back time thing. Sure, it was a mistake, but screwing up like I did led me to where I am now. It was that decision I made in that split second that actually allowed me to get the hell out of the army and out of that purgatory I was living in."

A swell of emotion for what he had gone through overcame her but she managed to give voice to her thoughts. "So you would live it all again, despite the pain and the desperation? You wouldn't want to change anything?"

"No," he answered instantly, devastating in his certainty. "Because it was a decision _I_ made... no one imposed it on me. In the end, I was the one who decided the course of my life, even if I had no idea of what I was doing at the time. But by taking that decision, I'm standing here now. I had to live through a nightmare because of it yet by making a mistake, I rid myself of the chains that were binding me down to a place I didn't wish to be anymore."

And just like that, with the lethal precision of his words, he accidentally shattered part of the hazy glass that had been obscuring Sakura's vision.

Gaara shook his head, his jade eyes intent on the pavement in front of them as he remembered. "The pain was a bitch, there's no doubt about that," he admitted ruefully. "But like it or not, it was because of the pain that I knew I was alive. So no, I wouldn't go back and change anything. It's a complete waste of time to think that way."

As he finished speaking, he lifted his hard jade eyes to her face as if daring her to contradict him. Sakura knew he would be ruthless; it was the special quality of his strength. But in his mercilessness he exposed her weaknesses for what they truly were: unnecessary. There were two kinds of limitations in life, the ones you could overcome and the ones you learned to live with. Luckily, you were the one who decided which limitations fell into what category.

Sakura had made her choice on the day she vowed she would regain the use of her leg. She was clear on what kind of limitation her injury would be, the type she could work on and overcome. As such, her emotional traumas would just have to step up to the line when the time came because to be able to walk normally again, she had to get rid of every single one. She didn't care if it took her years to do so. Haruno Sakura refused to live the rest of her days as a victim, especially in the emotional sense of the term. Not when she could do something about it.

Taking in a deep breath, she nodded. "Yeah," she said, "you're absolutely right."

Her emerald eyes clashed with his jade orbs. Gaara scrutinized her face for a few moments, as if looking for something. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw because his lips broke into a small grin, a smile Sakura had never seen on his face before. It made him look like the teenager he must have been a long time ago.

Unable to help herself, she found she was smiling back. Without warning, Sakura felt the young girl within her stir once again. Like the last time it had happened it was only a small movement; a flexing of her heart as it attempted to take a different direction. She swelled with elation as hope resurfaced once more. It must have shown on her face because Gaara was suddenly looking strangely at her.

She chuckled at his bewildered expression. "Just a little revival of the dead," she said cryptically.

"Sometimes the dead should remain where they are: buried," he told her.

"True," Sakura conceded. "But not in this case."

"Who are you reviving?" the redhead asked, clearly unconvinced.

"Me," she answered truthfully. "The girl I was a long time ago before the man who did this to me decided to kill me."

Gaara stilled, her words unexpected. This was the first time in their entire acquaintance that she had actually mentioned anything about her past. But, like he usually did, he rose to the challenge.

"Except he didn't kill you," he told her. "You're alive and breathing right here."

"True again," she agreed. "It's something I'm amazingly grateful for. Nonetheless, there was a part of me that didn't survive the accident."

He faced the street once more, looking thoughtful. "And you think it can be revived?" he asked.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea... but I'll never know until I try."

It was his turn to agree. "That's true. But then, you're looking to revive something you lost."

She nodded after a moment. "You could say that."

"Well, sometimes you're better off letting things go instead of clinging to them," Gaara said. He turned towards her fully and pierced her with an intense jade stare. "Instead of reviving a ghost, I think you're better off building yourself anew from scratch."

Sakura felt her heart contract. "Problem is I don't know how to do that," she admitted sadly. "Do you?"

"No bloody clue," the redhead conceded ruefully. "But like you said, it's all about the trying."

Her lips curved upwards in agreement.

"Come on," he told her as he stood up, "we're late as it is already and I need another caffeine dose if I'm going to be able to put up with Lee's harassment this morning."

Sakura chuckled. As she made to stand, he went up to the vending machine to get another can of iced coffee. They walked down the street, both of them absorbed in resolute thoughts of the future. It was only belatedly that Sakura noticed Gaara was carrying her backpack over his right shoulder. She'd forgotten to take it from him when she had stood up from the bench.

Blinking, she realized without wanting just how easily he had picked up the weight that was meant for her and relieved her of it, even if it was just for a little while.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

As he worked himself almost to the limit, Gaara wondered for the hundredth time what had possessed him to say all those things to Sakura.

Using one of the machines at the clinic, he lifted the equivalent of his weight using his legs. The sweat rolled down his face and stung his eyes but he didn't care. He had to vent some of the energy that had been driving him hard ever since his conversation with the pink haired woman.

Anyone walking by would have thought he was an expert in giving advice. Any passerby overhearing their conversation would have thought he knew exactly what he was talking about.

The devastating truth was he didn't. He was the least adequate person in the world to tell Sakura how she should go about recovering the scattered pieces of her life. An ex-soldier with anger management issues who up until recently revelled in splattering the blood of his enemies, Gaara knew very well he was less than qualified to give anyone advice, much less comfort them. He had no clue of how to live his own life now that he had finally taken up the reins of his existence. Who the hell did he think he was, telling Sakura what she should or shouldn't do?

He'd never meant to tell her about his injury. He'd never meant to speak about his past. But she had looked so damned lost and she had asked him directly. There was no possibility of dodging a direct question. Overwhelmed by an inexplicable desire to be honest with her in all his dealings, it had been necessary to tell her the truth. So he'd told her and much to his astonishment, she had seemed to appreciate it; something that had made it all the worse in the end. The blatant appreciation in her eyes had dislodged something within his chest, eliciting a feeling he was unable to comprehend. It had made him blurt out what his instincts were telling him to say, even though he had no true idea of what the hell he was talking about.

It had made him want to rip the asshole who had done this to her to shreds until there was nothing left.

He growled as he pushed the weight until his legs almost gave out.

"What the _hell_ do you think you are doing?" came a threatening voice from somewhere to his right. It was low and controlled, as if the speaker was holding in the evident temper in his tone only through sheer force of will.

Gaara looked up to find Naruto looming over him, his blue eyes blazing.

"You were taking too long," the redhead snapped back, matching the blond's irritation with his own.

"You're not supposed to do anything until I approve of it," Naruto reminded him through clenched teeth. "That was the deal. You can work out here only if I'm here to supervise you."

Gaara snarled at him in response.

Naruto retaliated in kind.

They glared at each other in a kind of stalemate, the recognition of each other's strength rendering them unable to make the first move.

But the mental turmoil the redhead had been experiencing rose to the surface once again, making him back down unexpectedly. He lowered his legs with a resigned sigh and slumped backwards on the machine.

It was so uncharacteristic of him that Naruto had to blink a few times to understand what was happening.

"What's up?" he asked, the temper in his voice replaced by concern.

"Nothing," Gaara replied.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when hell freezes over."

"Frustration's just riding me harder than usual today," the redhead conceded. Even though he wasn't telling the entire truth, it wasn't exactly a lie.

"But you've been showing steady progress," Naruto remarked. "As a matter of fact it's been days since you've had any real pain or discomfort."

"Yeah," Gaara agreed moodily but didn't elaborate more.

The blond narrowed his eyes at him. "Did you go out for a jog?"

"Yes."

"Want to go out running again?"

"Maybe."

"How about we make a couple of circuits round the park and then work out there?"

"Alright."

The lassitude in the redhead's tone was causing alarms to go off inside Naruto's head. Usually whenever he was frustrated Gaara would explode into fits of temper. With a quick burst of forceful violence he would detonate, vent his aggravation and then go back to normal. It was his standard procedure when it came to letting go of particularly trying circumstances. He never expressed his frustration in a lacklustre way, like he was doing right now. There certainly was something else afoot here.

"Fine, I'll go get my running shoes and we'll be off," Naruto told Gaara before he stepped away, unable to hide his concern. The sooner he got the redhead actively working out, the better. He never failed to respond positively to exercise.

Left alone on the machine, Gaara stood up and stretched for a moment. He knew Naruto would try to badger him into telling him what was wrong but he wasn't about to let him. Not this time around. What he was experiencing was something he didn't completely understand... and it was something he wanted to keep to himself. Strangely, he felt a need to keep his interactions with Sakura just between the two of them.

The weirdest thing was, once he admitted it to himself, he didn't regret any of the things he'd said to her, despite him thinking he had no right to tell her anything. He'd meant what he'd said, every single word. Even though he had no idea of where such opinions had come from, he'd told Sakura the truth as he saw it. Never in his life had he done something similar: expressing himself honestly to try to comfort another person. It was a first in his long career of interpersonal ineptitude.

And she had been grateful for it; grateful for the blunt words of a social pariah who had never given a damn about anyone else during his entire life. This only made the fact of just how truly damaged she was deep inside all the more evident.

A fact that brought him back to the same irrefutable conclusion: he wanted to bash in the bastard's head with his fists until his brains splattered across the floor for doing this to her.

What was worse, this direction of thought brought on the revelation that he was starting to think like the overprotective Naruto.

It was the last straw.

"Let's get the hell out here," Gaara growled at the blond when he came back.

He was going to run until his legs caved in. It was the only way to blot out all these intruding thoughts circling around in his head.

Adhering to humanity, it seemed, wasn't all it was cut out to be.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Don't forget to drop me a comment. ;D<p> 


	6. Interruptions of the Mundane

**A/N: **Finally got around to this. Sorry to have kept you waiting but like I said, updates will come when they come. It happens when life tumbles you around like dice.

You'll finally be getting some answers in this one... or at least, I think you are. :'D

Enjoy guys and thanks for the steadfast support!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VI – INTERRUPTIONS OF THE MUNDANE<strong>

**~xxx~  
><strong>

Sakura closed her laptop with a resolute click, turning off the screen she had been staring at for a while. The weekly email report from the hospital had arrived earlier this morning and even though she promised herself she would stop reading it, she never found the strength of will to reject any knowledge about his condition.

Just like the past numerous weeks, Sasuke's coma had not progressed in the least.

He still lay there, oblivious to the world and uncaring of the destruction he had wrought when he had decided to crash his car into his brother's vehicle. And from the reports the doctors were giving her, there was little chance of him ever recovering consciousness. The brain damage he had suffered because of the accident was extensive. His body was still breathing because of a distorted survival instinct; the spirit within that body had forfeited its life long ago. In his mad dash to act out a suicide-murder, Sasuke had willingly lost any claim on his life.

Leaning back on the chair in front of the small desk in her room, Sakura thought it was fitting for him to be lingering in a sort of limbo, neither dead nor alive. If what he'd wanted the most was to kill himself as well as his victims, then it was fitting for him to linger in a place that was neither here nor there. The way she kept reading the weekly emails was perverse, she knew; she dreaded and loved to receive them, wanting to know if he had already died or if he was still acting out his punishment in this lingering intermediate state for having tried to pull her down with him. Part of her wanted to see him pay for everything he had done, for the pain he had inflicted. But another part of her wanted nothing more than to be rid of him once and for all, to clean the slate completely and finally be able to say he would never come back to haunt her.

And there was yet another part of her that wanted nothing more than to shrivel in a corner and weep at what the man she had loved so much at one point of her life had done to her.

In his narcissistic impulses, Sasuke had considered her an extension of himself, a possession that should do and say as he wanted. Sakura knew this warped view of their relationship had been possible because she had initially allowed him to do whatever he wanted; to use her as he saw fit. Back in those days she thought that being with him was enough and that the love she had for him would one day help him see the light.

What a complete idiot she had been.

Because of her distorted perspective of love-conquers-all, she had been unable to see things for what they actually were: she was caught in an abusive relationship with a violent man who was consumed by his lust of enacting revenge on his older brother.

In the end, love _did not_ conquer anything... it actually made it worse. It made her accept situations she shouldn't have ever accepted in the first place and it made her bow her head down until there was no possibility of ever raising it again. In the end, she had finally came to realize that what she was involved in wasn't love at all. It was the greatest disillusionment of her life.

So she had picked herself up, the temper and the steel backbone she had hidden deep within herself rising to the fore. Sakura's soul had cried out to her in desperation and had given her the strength to finally stand up. So she had left him; packed her things and left him. With her bags next to the door she had informed Sasuke of her decision, attempting to keep her voice firm despite the deep apprehension she felt within herself at standing up to him. He had just looked at her with a blank look in his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, turning his back on her as he went back into the living room to continue whatever it was that he was planning with the group of thugs he was involved in.

Since his brother had been part of the underworld of organized crime, Sasuke had followed in his steps to try and catch up to him. Sakura was never given the details of any of his activities and she honestly did not want to know. Her opinions had never really mattered to Sasuke, so it was pointless to dabble in whatever it was he was doing.

"I do not have time for this," he told her over his shoulder as he left her standing in the doorway, "I have more important things to take care of."

Sakura knew it was in that moment that the first true seed of hatred towards him had been planted.

The next year after that had been a whirlwind of activity for her. Getting her feet back under her had been a thrilling and rewarding experience. Even though Sasuke had warped part of her life, when it came to her professional career Sakura couldn't have been more outstanding. Their parting of ways had come hand in hand with her graduating from medical school and it was time to take her education up a notch by enrolling in a graduate program. Thanks to her grades it was easy to get a scholarship and off she went to study abroad. The experience had done amazing things to her confidence and after a very long time, she had started to feel like her old self again. Like the girl who believed she could pull everything off if she only tried.

When she came back after a year and a half on foreign soil, she had landed the job at the medical research firm she was currently working in. Sakura couldn't have been happier. It was one of the most victorious moments in her life, to come back and proof to herself that she could move forward undauntedly. During her time away she'd involved herself with other men; the majority had not been serious relationships but they had been enough to prove her right: she had made the correct decision in walking out on Sasuke. What she couldn't comprehend was why she hadn't done so earlier.

Still, she had successfully learned her lesson and she would never make such a mistake again. Life held all kinds of surprises for her if she just deigned herself to look forward expectantly.

But in one of those ironic moments of life, she did exactly the opposite of what she intended to do. When Sasuke called her on that fateful day, she answered the phone and agreed to meet up with him. Sakura was aware it was a mistake even when she was doing it but she was unable to help herself. Something within her still wanted to believe he could become a better person; that he could become the man he had the potential of being deep inside. When it came to Sasuke, she had always been incredibly blind... and it had taken a great tragedy for her to be able to finally open her eyes once and for all.

He had picked up in his car and the moment she had sat down on the passenger seat, she knew something was very wrong. Sasuke's eyes were red-rimmed and glazed over, evidence enough that one of his maniac moods was riding him hard. He locked all the doors and proceeded to speed along the road and into the high way, informing her of all that happened to him after she had left.

Panic had risen in Sakura's chest at his demeanour but she refused to let it overwhelm her. She tried to make sense of his babbling by talking to him like if they were having a normal conversation. It was because of this that she finally realized what it was he was planning to do.

His older brother Itachi, the man he'd been desperately aiming to kill for most of his life, had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. This, from what Sakura had discerned, had served as a kind of trigger for Sasuke's already unstable mind. He told her he refused to be beat by an illness and that he was going to achieve his final goal, the murder of his only living kin, in just a few moments.

Swallowing the rising terror, Sakura had casually asked him what she had to do with any of this.

And he'd answered: "Everything. You're part of it all, don't you see? You're part of me, the woman who decided to love me. You're mine. So if I'm going to disappear, you're going to disappear with me. We'll bring death to Itachi together."

She had no idea of how long they drove down the highway. Knowing it was useless to try to pull out her cell phone, Sakura frantically tried to come up with a way out. She thought of a thousand excuses, like asking him to pull over because she had to use the bathroom or even throwing herself out of the window. But as the miles passed she was frozen in place on her seat and all she could do was hear him babbling madly about the magnificent end they were about to face.

After what seemed like an endless amount of time, he pulled off on an exit and entered a small town. Sakura didn't know how he knew Itachi would be there or how he had garnered the information. She was aware of his brother's proximity because Sasuke's demeanour was reaching unprecedented levels of frenzy. In a desperate attempt to preserve both their lives, Sakura tried to get him to see reason. She shouldn't have bothered: he was a long way past any rational train of thought.

With triumphant exclamation, Sasuke swerved the car down a road where a parked vehicle was standing on the opposite end. He slammed down on the accelerator as he screamed bloody vengeance at the sound of the roaring engine. Sakura assumed Itachi was sitting in that parked car. She had no idea of how Sasuke knew this but asking about it was evidently pointless.

Sakura, in a frantic state of absolute panic, acted on pure survival instinct: she unstrapped her seatbelt and threw herself into the back seat, praying she would make it in time. As she did so, her eyes involuntarily lifted towards the speedometer and at the number emblazoned on the digital screen: seventy-three miles per hour.

Sasuke tried to make a grab for her then, screaming in rage. As one of his hands let go of the steering wheel, he lost control of the car.

The world started spinning, throwing Sakura against the back car door forcefully. Sasuke's hoarse scream resounded in her ears before everything came to a cataclysmic stop. The crunching of metal followed, sending her flying against the corner of the back windshield, glass sprinkling all over her. After so many months, she still wasn't sure why her skull hadn't hit the roof of the car but at this point, she was through asking questions.

The car had crashed sideways into the other vehicle, smashing the parked car into the post of a street-lamp in the process. The pole had cracked, landing on top of the roof of Itachi's car. Sakura had always supposed this was what had killed the older Uchiha... assuming it really was him sitting in there.

Sakura knew two men had been in the vehicle and both of them had died due to the crash. One was dark haired and fit Itachi's description; yet his face had been disfigured due to the collapsed ceiling of the car. Not that Sakura knew what Itachi looked like; she'd never met him or seen him before in her life. The official police identifications had said it really was him. Nonetheless, with the involvement of the underworld, anything was possible.

But Sakura couldn't care less; all she wanted was to let the past rest once and for all. After the accident, she had more pressing concerns to occupy her mind with, namely dealing with the extensive emotional trauma and coming to terms with the fact that she was no longer able to walk.

It had all been one big twisted outcome.

Swallowing as she let the memory fade, Sakura let out a deep breath where she was sitting on her chair. As a result of all the chaos and of Sasuke not having any living family left, she was the only one left to receive the medical updates of his condition. Her lawyer said it was a good thing as well since she could keep track of the murderous psychopath who had tried to end her life. She would be the first one to know when he finally died, an event that would set her free at last.

But Sakura wasn't sure about all this; something deep inside of her thought she would be better off not knowing anything. Unwillingly, Gaara's voice echoed inside her mind.

_Sometimes you're better off letting go of things instead of clinging to them. _

And he was right. Absolutely and devastatingly right.

It did no good to cling to things, not when they linked you to a past you were making every effort to disconnect from. Receiving a weekly email from the hospital did nothing to severe the bridges Sakura was so desperately trying to burn.

Who would've thought that such a violent former-military man would be able to tell her just what she needed to hear?

Smiling at the thought of Gaara, with his brusque demeanour and ruthless voice, Sakura reached for her crutches and stood. If there was someone you could count on to be direct and merciless, it was the redhead. You could rely on him to tell you the truth no matter the consequences and no matter how much you didn't want to hear it. But after having danced around the subject for such a long time, Sakura found she welcomed his direct approach.

It was about time she started admitting certain truths to herself, no matter how difficult it was to actually face them.

With this resolution in mind, she headed towards the door and towards another day of physiotherapy at the clinic.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Gaara asked, his tone lethal.

From the look of his dishevelled hair and his churlish expression, it was clear Naruto's insistent knocking had gotten him out of bed. Despite it being almost midday, Sakura inwardly opined it was perfectly natural for him to want to spend a Sunday morning lazing around. As the thought crossed her mind, she made the best effort to advert her eyes from the redhead's exposed chest and abdomen. It was clear his preferred choice of sleeping garb consisted solely of a pair of sweat-shorts.

She found herself wondering if he wore any boxers underneath but caught herself in time before the thought led her to places she _did not_ wish to go.

"All of us are going to the lakeside for a picnic lunch since the day's so sunny," Naruto was saying. "Thought you might want to come along!"

"I see all of you on practically a daily basis," Gaara informed him in a bad-tempered voice. It was evident he was not at all happy of being dragged out of bed only to find the hyperactive Naruto at his door. "Didn't it occur to you that I might need a break?"

The blond cocked his head to the side. "A break? Why would you want-"

"I told him it was a bad idea to disturb you," Sakura interrupted pointedly, finally coming up to stand fully beside her blond friend. "I told him you would want to spend your Sunday peacefully." As if to emphasize her statement, she swatted Naruto on the leg with one of her crutches.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed. Clear blue eyes turned to glare at her.

Gaara was slightly taken aback; he hadn't seen Sakura standing there. He had been concentrating his annoyance on Naruto.

She was smiling up at him apologetically. "But he insisted we should come over even though I told him you had turned off your cell phone for a reason."

"Well yeah, he shouldn't miss out on the fun," Naruto remarked sheepishly.

The redhead blinked for a moment, looking at the two of them as if seeing them for the first time. Both of them were wearing summer attire, Naruto in bathing trunks and a t-shirt and Sakura in a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a tank top. Both of them were wearing sandals and the pink haired woman had strapped on her special knee brace for the occasion.

"The lake?" Gaara asked. He was still irritated but his anger had deflated somewhat.

Naruto beamed at him. "Yeah, we're going to take a dip since the weather is finally starting to warm up. Neji and Tenten are in charge of the sandwiches and we're in charge of refreshments."

The redhead looked suspicious for a moment. "And what is Lee in charge of?" he asked in a foreboding voice.

"Water entertainment," Naruto replied with a wide smile, seemingly unaware of the redhead's apprehension.

Gaara looked like he was about to baulk. Sakura thought it adequate to intervene at this point.

"You don't have to go into the lake if you don't want to," she told him. "I'll just be sitting by the trees and enjoying a quite time by myself so you can stay with me if you prefer."

The redhead looked relieved at this possibility but it still took him a moment to think about it. In the end, Naruto's eager puppy-dog eyes were too much even for him.

"Stop looking at me like that, idiot," Gaara retorted gruffly, taking a step back into his apartment. "Fine, I'll go. But I have to take a shower first."

"Sure thing!" Naruto exclaimed, happily walking into the redhead's home without being invited.

Sakura was forced to follow him and to close the door behind her.

Gaara's place turned out to be much neater than she expected. It was a one bedroom apartment with the kitchen and living room sharing the same space. After having witnessed the way in which Naruto and his roommates lived, she was expecting to find all sorts of discarded artefacts thrown in disarray around the place. But Gaara seemed to have his living arrangements in order, much to her impressed surprise. Not that there weren't dirty dishes in the sink or a couple of shirts thrown over chairs. In comparison to whirlwind-Naruto, the redhead lived in an incredibly tidy environment.

The blond seemed to notice this too. "Wow, you really have this place cleaned up, don't you?" he asked as he plopped down on the living room couch.

"Just because you like to live in a pig sty doesn't mean the rest of us have the same preferences," Gaara replied from somewhere inside his room.

"I couldn't agree more!" Sakura exclaimed as she pulled out a chair from the small kitchen table and sat.

"Besides, in the military, cleaning after yourself is one of the first things they drill into your head," Gaara was saying. "It's kind of hard to let go of the habit after so long."

"You should try having me as your roommate for a while," Naruto said. "I'm sure I'll be able to get rid of that habit in a blink of-"

"No!" Sakura and Gaara shouted at the same time.

The blond looked sullen at their eager and simultaneous response. He pouted.

The redhead stepped out of his room, a pair of bathing-trunks and a towel in his hand. "Give me ten minutes," he told them as he opened the bathroom door.

"Take your time," Sakura replied cheerily.

"I don't see a TV around here!" Naruto complained.

"And you won't find one," Gaara replied mockingly, sticking his head out of the bathroom. "I don't watch TV. Never had a need for it."

"What?" the blond blurted out in shock. "How can you live without-"

But the redhead had already closed the door on them. A few seconds later, Sakura heard the steady stream of the shower as it was turned on.

"He's out of his mind," Naruto said grumpily. "How can he live without a TV?"

"Just because you're a sitcom addict doesn't mean everyone else is," Sakura told him wryly.

"True but still... I mean, just what the hell does he do during his free time? Since he's out of the military for good he isn't doing much, you know."

It was Sakura's turn to look thoughtful. "Maybe he reads?" she asked tentatively.

Naruto snorted at the ridiculousness of the suggestion. "Yeah right."

The roseate haired woman chuckled. Her friend did have a point. She couldn't imagine Gaara sitting down with a novel or a book of any kind. Even though she had seen him reading the newspaper on several occasions, she was sure he didn't make a habit out of reading.

The thought kept circling around both their heads until they both caved in. Once they were driving off in Naruto's pick-up truck, they asked him directly.

"What do I do?" Gaara replied from the back seat, clearly perplexed.

"Yeah, what the hell do you do when you come home at night or when you have some free time? Which I'm sure you have a lot of," Naruto said. "I mean, you don't spend all your time at the clinic so you've got to do something!"

Gaara looked thoughtful. "To tell you the truth I never did have much free time at all so I never developed any hobbies," he told them in a deadpan voice. "You don't get much time off in the military; when I did get days off I would volunteer for other duties. It's not like I had anywhere to go."

Sakura turned in the passenger seat to look at him. "No family?"

"Yeah, I have family," Gaara confessed wryly, much to Naruto's evident shock. "But it's not like I would take a vacation to come visit. That's just not how it works. My older sister and brother keep contact with me but they're living their own lives now. I'm not about to barge in."

"Oh," Sakura said, turning towards the window. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him. No wonder the solitude he emanated was so genuine.

"You still haven't answered our question," Naruto cut in. "Just what do you do when you're not at the clinic? If I didn't know better I'd say you were up to some dodgy business."

Gaara sneered at him. "I've had enough of dodgy business to last me a lifetime. It comes from being in a faction of the military that doesn't actually exist," he retorted. "Well, if you must know, I mostly go to the supermarket. And when I don't, I go to the neighbourhood arcade."

"The arcade?" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed at the same time. It was impossible to hide the astonishment from their voices.

"Yeah," the redhead replied defensively. "I discovered I'm pretty good at the shooting games. One of the guys who runs the place said I should enter a competition of some sorts. Not sure what that actually entails, though."

Naruto was laughing loudly and Sakura couldn't help but join in. So the military veteran turned out to be a video-game junkie... who would've thought? It was no surprise he could shoot himself through anything the virtual world threw at him, though.

"You know, you can buy a TV and a console and actually play the games at home," the blond informed him in a patronizing tone.

Jade eyes narrowed at him. "Of course I bloody know," he replied vehemently, "I haven't been living under a rock all this time. I go out because I don't want to stay cooped up. It doesn't do any good."

"I agree with you there," Sakura said, very much aware of how one's brain could go into overdrive once you were alone. It was so much better to be distracted by the mundane sometimes.

When they arrived at the lakeside around thirty minutes later, Lee was already waiting for them. He was ecstatic at the fact that Gaara had joined them and proceeded to babble excitedly about the inflatable boat he'd brought along. They could take turns paddling it two at a time. Naruto jumped at the suggestion immediately, manning the foot pump so they could launch their vessel as soon as possible. The two of them looked like a pair of big kids bubbling over with excitement at the thought of nautical exploration.

Gaara, on the other hand, wasn't exactly impressed.

Sakura saw him standing to one side, surveying Naruto and Lee with a critical look in his jade eyes. Somehow she thought he was assessing the boat with a soldier's expertise and finding it lacking as a means of transport. She couldn't help but laugh as she settled down on the large table cloth Lee had spread out on the grass for her under the shade of some nearby trees. Her school friends looked like the idiotic duo of a comedic sketch; no wonder Gaara was openly unimpressed by their behaviour.

Finally tiring of their overly enthusiastic preparation, he lifted his jade eyes to look for Sakura. When he found her he didn't waste any time in walking over to join her. This led to a very satisfying exercise during which the two of them verbally abused the dynamic duo inflating the boat, resulting in Sakura telling Gaara about several of their foolish exploits during their high school years. By that time, Neji and Tenten arrived with the food. Naruto walked up to his pick-up truck to bring down the icebox they'd brought filled with the refreshments they'd bought. He left it promptly on the table cloth before walking back to Lee: their boat was ready for its first venture.

Neji said he would supervise the launching, so Sakura, Tenten and Gaara were left to witness the spectacle of the three men doing their best to get the thing going. Every time Naruto tried to climb unto the boat, he would topple it over and Lee would end up in the water. They behaved so stupidly over the whole thing that Gaara found himself enjoying their idiocy in earnest. They didn't manage it until Neji wadded in the water and helped them hold the boat in place. But once they were ready to go they realized they'd left their plastic oars ashore. The pair of them wouldn't have lasted two minutes in the military.

After they were finally paddling their way across the lake, Tenten turned towards the redhead with a glint in her eyes and challenged him to a swimming race. He asked if she was sure of what she was doing, going up against a military man. She only laughed and told him if he was sure of going up against a college swimming champion.

Sakura smiled inwardly as she watched the two of them stand and go off towards the water. She knew very well her brown haired friend had only challenged Gaara because swimming was an excellent exercise for advanced shoulder rehabilitation. Tenten, who had been telling the truth about being a swimming champion, would definitely not go all out on the redhead. Of course, this didn't mean he had to know that.

When they were solely sporting bathing-trunks and swimsuit, Neji gave the signal for them to start and they plunged into the water. Sakura couldn't help but admire the lovely muscles of Gaara's back just before he disappeared under the water.

She sat back, leaning against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes. It was moments like these that she had sorely missed, being able to spend some time with her friends without having to worry about anything else. After having been completely swallowed by fretfulness and anxiety during the last months, it was a genuine relief to experience such carefree moments. The iron grip of misery clutching her heart was finally lessening.

After a while, Neji joined her and poured her a drink. They talked for some time about all sorts of things, especially some of their old classmates. Sakura was eager to know about their lives and Neji was happy to share any details he might know. She also told him about the projects she'd been handling at work and how she was interested in bringing in traditional medicine to some of the investigations. He showed genuine interest in such collaboration and they were so absorbed in what they were talking about, neither of them noticed when Lee and Naruto made it back from their boat expedition.

After having something to drink, they ceded the boat to Neji; so when Tenten and Gaara finished the last lap of their swim, he gave his girlfriend an oar and off they went for a while. Lee told Gaara he could go for a boat ride with him afterwards but the redhead vehemently refused. Naruto and Sakura just laughed at their exchange, flinching at the appropriate times when the redhead threw a particularly scathing remark Lee's way. As usual, his barbs just bounced harmlessly off the enthusiastic man; there was no dampening Lee's fervent ways.

Naruto took the opportunity to ask Sakura if she wanted to go sit by the water's edge. She said she'd love to get her feet wet at least. He led her towards the water, mindful of her crutches but allowing her to walk without any assistance. It didn't take long for Gaara to join them, having quickly tired of Lee and his insistence; he left him setting the table for lunch. There was a large flat stone near the shore and Sakura sat down on it to dip her feet in the water. Naruto decided to go for a quick swim, leaving Gaara standing next to Sakura.

She looked up at him, with his wet hair pulled back, and decided he was unquestionably handsome. The fact that he was standing there in just a pair of bathing-trunks did a lot to help his appearance. Being in the sunlight would do wonders for him, she thought, since his pale skin seemed not to have seen the rays of the sun for a while. She imagined it had to do with the fact that he'd spent most of the previous year in the hospital due to the subsequent recovery of his surgery. With a little bit of a tan, he would prove to be irresistible in his looks.

Smiling deprecatingly at herself, Sakura shook her head. It was pointless thinking such useless thoughts. But somehow she couldn't seem to help herself. It was the first instance in a very long time that she'd stopped and considered how attractive a man was. Why it had to be Gaara she had no idea; nonetheless she thought the whole thing only pointed to her making a successful comeback. Finally being able to see a man and not flinch when considering him attractive was a rather positive step. After the accident, the last thing she wanted was for any member of the male gender to come anywhere near her. Well, anyone except Naruto obviously; he didn't count. He had been rendered completely asexual in her perspective a very long time ago.

Besides, a woman had to be dead not to notice the luscious delineated muscles that were being displayed right in front of her.

As if sensing her gaze, the redhead turned to look down at her. His eyes looked his question.

Refusing to feel flustered at being caught in the act of staring she asked the first thing that came into her mind. "How did the swim go?" She gestured toward his shoulder as she spoke.

He rolled it experimentally before answering. "Alright, I guess," he told her. "It hurt a bit at the beginning but afterwards it kind of got used to the movement. It felt good to be able to swim like before."

"I'm sure it did," she said, her tone wistful.

He narrowed her eyes at her. "Wallowing in self-pity?" he asked acidly.

She couldn't help but chuckle at his mercilessness. "No, not really. I know I've still got a long way to go before I can achieve any semblance of walking. Still, it doesn't mean I don't wish things could progress faster."

"Yeah," he finally agreed, "the rehab can be a real bitch. But it works."

"You've got that right," she replied, smiling up at him. "You're evidence enough of that."

"Guys!" Lee shouted from where he was standing by their picnic. "It's ready!"

"About time," Sakura remarked, "I'm starving."

In an offhand gesture Gaara offered her his hand and helped her up. Blinking, Sakura realized this was the first time in their acquaintance that he had actually offered her any direct assistance despite her obvious handicap. Even though he'd always stood beside her or carried her things for her, he'd never reached out to aid her like Naruto and the others did. Not sure of what to make of this, she walked silently back towards Lee.

Tenten and Neji showed up a few minutes afterwards, beaching the boat and joining them. All of them were incredibly hungry by then and they enjoyed their meal in comfortable silence. After they'd gobbled it all up, Naruto, Sakura, Gaara and Lee played a game of cards while Neji and Tenten dozed off for a while. When they noticed the time, the sun was already starting to dip towards the horizon and they decided it was prudent to call it a day. Packing all their stuff, they said their goodbyes and drove off.

Sakura couldn't help falling asleep on the back seat and only woke up when Naruto pulled up at Gaara's apartment building. She sat up and yawned widely, earning an amused sneer from the redhead. She pulled her tongue out at him after he said goodbye. Naruto waved farewell through the window as they drove off; Sakura had remained in the back seat since she couldn't be bothered to move up front.

"Do you think he enjoyed today?" she asked, leaning forward against the driver's seat.

"I'm sure he did," Naruto replied in a satisfied tone. "I'd also wager this was the first time he got invited to something like this."

"Yeah," Sakura said thoughtfully, watching the street lights fly by across the window. "It was tough to hear about his family and how they don't get along."

"You bet. It must be real harsh," the blond replied.

A few minutes later, Naruto dropped her off at her hotel. As she made her way through the lobby and got into the elevator, she continued thinking about Gaara and his situation. From the looks of it, he'd never really had a family; or then again, he'd had one but it wasn't what you would call a functional one. This must've made it all the more difficult to relate to other people. She couldn't help but wonder what had led him into volunteering for the military the way he had at so young an age.

Still, Sakura couldn't help remind herself of all Gaara had told her. He'd openly admitted he didn't regret the decisions he'd made and didn't resent life for his wound because it had led him to where he was now.

In a similar vein, Sakura couldn't help wondering about her case. Her injured knee had led her here... but then again, where _was_ here anyway?

Typically, as with everything that had recently happened to her, she was still in the process of finding out.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

It was a strange feeling that was overwhelming him, something he had never experienced before in his life.

Monday morning dawned cloudy and grey, belying the sunny weather they had been graced with the day before. The sky was washing the world with a slight drizzle, so Gaara refrained from going for his morning jog. He ate breakfast, showered and after dressing fully, he slumped unto the living room couch since he didn't have a clinic appointment until later in the afternoon. The redhead stared out the window as he tried to piece together certain disarraying thoughts that were crowding inside his head.

First and foremost was this bizarre emotion he was experiencing. In the long years he'd spent in the military, he had learned there were two ways of categorizing people who weren't enemies: they were assets or liabilities. There was no gray zone between these two categories. Either you could count on someone to watch your back when the bullets started flying or you could count on them being useless, only good for slowing you down. It was a practical manner of assessing people and it worked more often than not. Gaara had been so successful in his military career because he could dispassionately place people into one of these two categories. Being able to do so had guaranteed his survival.

But now that his Phantasma days were over, he had come upon a conundrum.

Just where did the madcap staff of the clinic fit?

In a way he knew they were assets; they were helpful and essential when it came to helping him regain the use of his shoulder. They may talk a lot of mumbo-jumbo but they actually knew what they were doing. Gaara couldn't deny the effectiveness of the treatment he had received. But on the other hand, they were clearly liabilities since they didn't think twice about badgering him and breathing down his throat when he least wanted it. No matter how much he tried to hide they would seek him out and annoy the hell out of him no matter their good intentions. Since they had characteristics of both categories, Gaara had been reticent when it came to placing them in either. He'd still been trying to determine where they belonged.

But then yesterday had happened and Naruto had shown up with Sakura at his door, insisting he should share in the supposed fun. Initially, he had gone along with the plan because he had nothing else to do but as the day had progressed, he found he was actually enjoying himself.

_Enjoying_. Now that was an alien concept. Almost as alien as the thought of the possibility of there being another category in which people might fit in: friends.

Neither assets nor liabilities but both on occasion. Except them being liabilities didn't matter because they were also assets at the same time. It was a revealing paradox Gaara was still trying to figure out.

At the beginning, he hadn't minded being treated in such a forthcoming manner by the clinic's staff. Since he had to spend so much time there, he had come to the conclusion that is was favourable for him to get along with them. It would make everything easier. But then things had progressed without him noticing and Naruto had first asked him over to dinner and then included him in their Sunday lake outing. Being a patient or a client had nothing to do with it anymore and he found himself relating to all of them in a way he had never related to others before. It was murky territory for him and he wasn't sure of where he was stepping.

Gaara couldn't help comparing his current situation with the way he had related to his previous comrades-in-arms in Phantasma. His mind couldn't help summoning Deidara's wild grin when he'd given Gaara his initial welcome to the platoon. Fists and blood were on the complete opposite side of the spectrum to the welcome he'd received at the clinic. Nonetheless, he knew comparing his experiences in Phantasma to his current position was pointless. It only helped to muddle his mind even more.

Furthermore, there was another point that kept popping up more insistently than any other: the curious glint in Sakura's gaze when he'd turned to look down at her at the water's edge. Gaara's whole being had snapped to attention at that look. He knew very well what it was to be surveyed with lust; he'd had enough physical encounters with women in the places where he had been stationed to know very well how the dynamics of attraction worked. But this was somehow different... it had elicited a completely different response from him. All of a sudden, he'd wanted to strut around arrogantly because Sakura's emerald eyes had held appreciation for his physique. She thought he was attractive and it had brought a feeling of complacency along with it.

Such a sentiment was unheard of in him! When had he ever cared for what a woman thought about him? But here he was, smugly satisfied that she'd been looking at him and not at Lee, Naruto or hell, even Neji.

It cost him to admit it but he had seen this kind of behaviour before...in _adolescent_ males. It was a conduct schoolboys were known to display around girls who liked them.

It was almost enough to make him roll his eyes at himself in exasperation.

The whole scenario certainly didn't help him figure out just where the hell he was standing at all. He'd never been part of a group of...of...friends before. He had no idea of how he was supposed to behave or what he was supposed to do. This was unknown territory for him. And adding Sakura to the mix just left him in a jumble of pointless thoughts that had the inclination of wondering how she would have looked like in a swimsuit. His mind even provided him with images of her in bikinis of different colours and sizes.

This was a regression, there was no doubt about that; a certified regression to his testosterone-driven teenage years.

Nonetheless, thinking about Naruto's reaction if he ever found out where Gaara's thoughts about Sakura were heading served as an appeasement. The blond's response was sure to be priceless, especially if he found out of his roseate haired friend's own appreciation for Gaara.

This thought provided him with all kinds of dark amusement at Naruto's expense.

As if summoning him with his mind, his cell phone rang, displaying the blond's name on the screen in bright letters.

"What?" he answered in his usual gruff manner.

"Gaara, so glad I found you!" Naruto exclaimed in an anxious voice.

Reacting instinctively at the underlying urgency in his words, the redhead's body readied itself for action despite himself.

"Sakura had an accident," the blond was telling him, "she slipped at a shopping centre because the damned floor was wet from the rain. I think there might have been stairs involved."

"Where is she?" Gaara asked, his combat senses going into overdrive and demanding instant action. But Naruto didn't seem to hear him in his frenzied worrying.

"Tenten and I are on our way but we're stuck in fucking traffic. You're closer to her from your apartment so you'll be able to get there quicker if you walk."

"Where is she?" the redhead asked again through clenched teeth.

Naruto finally seemed to hear him and gave him the address. "I don't know how bad the damage is," he said, "she wouldn't tell me but-"

"I'll be there in five minutes," Gaara interrupted.

"Five minutes, are you nuts?"

"You think I can't hold a sprint from here to there? Just watch me," Gaara informed him, already grabbing his wallet and keys from the table.

"No, you idiot, you might slip yourself if you run or get hit by a-"

But the redhead wasn't listening. He hung up and was out the door in the same movement.

* * *

><p>I know some of you will hate me for the cliffy... but there simply was no going around it. 8D Leave me your comments!<p> 


	7. Anchor myself to you

**A/N:** Effing finally! Sorry for the delay guys but after NaNoWriMo, the end of term hit me straight in the face. That's over though and I could finally sit down and get this chapter done.

Thanks for all your encouragement! Your reviews always mean a hell lot to me.

Here's an extra long chapter for y'all to make it up to you a bit. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VII – ANCHOR MYSELF TO YOU<strong>

****~xxx~****

Calling Naruto and letting him know what had happened was the only rational thing Sakura managed to do before the world came crashing down upon her.

The anxiety flickered and undulated at the edges of her perception while her friend's worried voice talked to her on the other side of the line. His strength and determination while telling her not to move managed to keep the panic momentarily at bay. But then she was forced to hang up and she instantly wished she could've kept him talking to her until he got there.

Putting her phone down, she looked up only to realize she had been completely surrounded by strangers. There were no familiar faces in the small crowd of people she had unwillingly attracted. Their hurried questions, albeit made with the most helpful intentions, pierced through her mind with an aching shrill, pulling her forcefully back in time before she could even realize what was happening.

In an abrupt shift in perception she was there again: sitting on the asphalt and dripping blood, listening to the laughter of the man who had tried to kill her along with everything in his path. She wanted nothing more than to escape, to move away as fast as she could and leave the accident behind. She wanted to _flee_, to run away from the magnitude of what had just happened before it crashed down on her with the weight of the entire world.

But she couldn't get up; she could not rise. It was then that she looked down at her right knee, blood seeping through her faded jeans as she simultaneously realized there was something seriously wrong with her joint. She pushed herself to stand but her leg wouldn't respond. No matter how much she willed and begged it to move, it would not answer. The people had started to reach her by then, screaming and shouting, asking if she was alright. They crowded her and tried to lift her up.

The movement triggered what her shocked senses had been trying to spare her of: the unbearable pain.

It shot through her leg like lightning, a throbbing so intense it threatened to make her lose consciousness. A guttural scream escaped her mouth, summoned from the very depths of her being. The people who were moving her instantly let her go, dropping Sakura unto the asphalt once again. She landed on her side and attempted to curl into herself but the agonizing pain wouldn't allow her to move. The tears arrived then and she wept freely, a heart-wrenching sob of bleakish misery escaping her lips.

She tried to breathe but there was no air.

With a jolt, she came back to the present, to a new crowd of strangers leaning over her. Sakura attempted to bring her breathing under control but it was too late, her hyperventilation had brought on a full blown panic attack. She felt anxiety crawl its way from the bottom of her stomach and dig its claws into her. Nausea instantly rose and her head started spinning in front of her.

And just like before, she could not stand up.

No matter how much she tried, she could not bring herself to her feet.

Tears streamed down her cheeks without her consent.

In a rare flash of insight, Sakura realized her crutches had landed some distance away. All she needed was to get them back and she would be able to get up. But this rational thought was not enough to pull her out of the miasma of anxiety she had surreptitiously landed in. All she needed to do was tell one of the people around her to hand her the crutches... it was that simple. But such an act seemed impossible from within the shadowy haze where Sasuke laughed in her ears and the sound of metal scraping against metal threatened to deafen her ear drums.

Sakura didn't know how long she stayed on the floor. Some people left but others grew more worried with her unresponsiveness. They thought she had been seriously injured because of her fall and had hit her head forcibly. She couldn't bring herself to say anything; her voice was lost. Too busy wielding a full-fledged battle against the panic she was incapable of uttering a coherent sentence. Amidst the crowd of strangers there was no one she could reach out to.

Then she blinked and from one moment to the next there was someone pushing people aside with a gruff voice and impatient manner. At the sound, Sakura whipped her face upwards only to meet a pair of hard jade eyes.

Relief, like a window flying open to let the light in, flooded her. She found her breath again and suddenly, the idea that she might just make it out of there seemed plausible. Rational thought unexpectedly returned with a whip-like crack and she was able to make an objective assessment of the situation. There were only four people around her, one of them with her crutches in their hand, the others discussing what they should do. One of them was the small shopping centre's janitor; he had been called by one of the women who had witnessed Sakura's fall. Due to Sakura's unresponsiveness they had already called for first aid attendance.

Gaara was attempting to disperse them, informing them that he was there to take of her and there was no need for them to fuss around anymore. His tone was authoritative and left no room for argument, leaving Sakura stupidly wondering how many times he'd been forced to use it in his previous profession. Before she could complete the thought he was crouching next to her, his jade eyes boring into her face. She noticed his hair was wet and his t-shirt damp; he'd come through the rain to get to her. He lifted his hand and placed it at her neck, checking her pulse and inspecting her for injuries with a scrutinizing gaze. He didn't find anything that needed his immediate attention, no broken ankles or arms.

He opened his mouth to speak but realized she had begun to shake with the aftermaths of shock. The shadows threatened to overwhelm Sakura once again and she gulped for air, biting her lower lip until she tasted blood.

Jade eyes widening, Gaara cursed under his breath. Placing one had at her back and sliding the other under her legs, he asked, "Did you hurt your knee?"

Sakura blinked, pulling herself together. "No, I landed on the other leg." As she was falling, she'd pivoted instinctively in an attempt to spare her injured joint the worst of the damage.

The redhead nodded and made to rise.

She gripped his arm in warning. "Gaara, you can't! Your shoulder-"

His gaze was challenging. "Don't you dare tell me what I can or cannot do."

"But-"

The redhead didn't allow her to finish speaking. He rose in one swift motion and took her with him.

Sakura gasped as he lifted her easily, momentarily revelling in the brief feeling of weightlessness. Gaara looked for a place to deposit her and found a bench some distance away. He barked something over his shoulder and when he sat down, Sakura felt someone lean her crutches against their newfound seat. Then they were alone, the hanger's on dispersed by the redhead's threatening glare. She had buried her face in Gaara's shirt before she realized what she as doing, digging her nails into the fabric and the skin underneath. Even if she'd wanted to she wouldn't have been able to prevent herself from doing so. The shaking was overwhelming her now even though his strength, made all the more poignant by his arms holding her in place on his lap, was keeping the worst of the anxiety at bay. Nonetheless, it did not prevent the misery from welling up inside of her.

"He's laughing at me," she choked out, her voice muffled against his chest. "I can hear him laughing at me."

Gaara, who had been planning on placing her on the bench and then sitting next to her, gritted his teeth. Sakura had instinctively clung to him the moment he had lifted her and he surprisingly found he was unable to push her away. In a piercing revelation he realized he did not want to untangle himself from her hold. So he had sat down with her in his lap, trying to hold her as best as he could as she shook from head to toe with shock.

But her words had ignited his temperamental disposition. It didn't take a genius to know who the _he_ she was talking about was. Renewed fury at what the bastard had done swept through him.

"He isn't here. He isn't anywhere near here," he told her, his voice thrumming with barely repressed rage. "_I'm_ here."

Sakura seemed to float over a threshold of uncertainty, unsure of which way to go and unable to move backwards or forwards. But with Gaara's voice piercing through the haze, he drowned out the maniacal laughter that was trying to eat her alive. And just like that, she was once more able to find her footing.

She nodded her acknowledgement to his words. "And thank goodness for that," she told him, gripping his shirt tighter.

His anger didn't disappear but its intensity lessened enough for him to pay closer attention to the woman in his arms. Her body's shaking was subsiding and her breathing was more controlled than before. There were no sobs wracking her frame and it seemed she was finally getting a hold of her bearings. Unwillingly he wondered at the simplicity of it all: all he needed to do was hold her for the storm to pass. Never in his life had he held someone like he was holding Sakura right now. It was strangely rewarding; somehow, the knowledge that his presence could make a difference was very gratifying.

Another alien concept he would need to ponder when all this was over. In the meantime, he found himself leaning his cheek against her hair. He didn't know why but in that instant, it only felt natural to do so.

She seemed to think so too. Her lungs expanded with an incredibly deep breath that she let out slowly, exhaling all the tension that had been overwhelming her body.

"Thank you," she told him, lifting her face from his shirt enough for the words to be heard properly.

Gaara nodded, knowing very well there was no need to say anything.

They sat there on the bench, the people walking across the shopping centre thinking them a curious picture but ignoring them for the most part. The world continued to turn, seemingly unaware of the scene of turmoil that had just taken place where a roseate haired woman had fought to conquer the ghosts behind her physical impairment. It seemed not to pay attention to the fact that she had found help from the unlikeliest source, a similarly impaired man who had never had a friend in his life and who knew nothing of sympathy.

But in its indifference, the world allowed them their moment, engulfing them in a cocoon of intimacy only the two of them could share. An instance when frustration and despair mingled with determination and resilience, uniting them in an unlikely alliance.

In its apparent unconcern, the world illumed the trail of the lost missing pieces of their life... even if it was for a few fleeting moments.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

By the time Tenten and Naruto arrived, Sakura was able to face them with a calmer demeanour. Any trace of tears was gone by then and Gaara had left her for a few minutes when she confirmed the fact that she was really thirsty. He'd gone over to the shopping centre's food court and bought her a coke. She desperately needed something with lots of sugar in it.

He'd only just returned when Naruto came charging down the corridor, Tenten in tow. Both of them looked like they were ready to face the apocalypse.

"Sakura!" the blond boomed, "are you alright?"

She sipped some coke before answering. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine thanks to Gaara."

Tenten proceeded to sit down next to her on the bench while Naruto gripped the redhead's good shoulder in an iron grip. He nodded solemnly, his eyes beaming with gratitude. "I knew I could count on you."

Gaara was unsure of how to respond to this display of appreciation. He wasn't used to being thanked for the things he did. Luckily, no kind of response was required of him. Naruto was already kneeling in front of Sakura, checking her legs, and Tenten was asking her if she was hurt or bruised anywhere.

Sakura smiled self-deprecatorily as she told them the story of how she had fallen. "It couldn't have been more stupid," she admitted shamefully. "I decided to come over since I thought I ought to buy those special trainers Lee had mentioned, the ones with a better sole grip. I'm supposed to start walking with a cane soon so I...-"

She stopped for a moment, overwhelmed by the possibility of this accident undoing any of the progress she had achieved after weeks of hard work.

"Go on," Tenten told her softly.

Sakura rallied. "I had to climb down a couple of steps...they couldn't even be called stairs. But since they're so close to the entrance, they were wet from the drizzle where people shake their umbrellas. And well, my crutches just slipped."

Naruto had lifted her jeans and was examining her knee with his hands. It wasn't swollen and it didn't seem to have suffered any impact.

"Like I said before," Sakura said, lifting her eyes to Gaara, "I landed on my other leg. I twisted round so my injured leg wouldn't be hurt."

"And it seemed that it did the trick," Naruto said. "It doesn't appear to be hurt badly. How is your other leg?" Without asking for her consent he pulled up her jeans on her opposite leg and examined it. When he grabbed her thigh to check for injuries, Sakura winced in pain.

"Now _that's_ what absorbed the impact," he said.

"And her ribs," Tenten said as she pressed her palm against Sakura's side. She hissed instantly at the contact.

Naruto sighed. "You seem to be alright but I really want to make sure. You've got the insurance so I say we get an MRI of that leg. It doesn't hurt to be extra careful."

Sakura nodded, suddenly turning professional. "I agree. I want to make sure I didn't stupidly undo any of the progress I've made so far."

"It wasn't stupid," Tenten said, hugging her carefully. "It happens to all of us. You're lucky Gaara's apartment is so near."

The roseate haired woman sighed deeply returning the embrace. "It's true. I was riding a full-blown panic attack for a moment there."

Tenten held her tighter for a few more seconds. "Good thing you've got the Physiotherapy Brigade watching your back."

"You've got that right," Sakura conceded with a laugh.

'Physiotherapy Brigade?' Gaara thought with incredulity, his eyes widening before he could help it. 'They've got to be kidding me.' It took all his efforts not to bury his face in his hands and the ridiculousness of the name.

"Alright, let's get going," Naruto said with a smile, stepping up to Sakura. "Bridal style or piggy-back?" he asked mischievously.

"Bridal style," Tenten answered with narrowing eyes. "If you give her a piggy-back ride you'll just jolt her leg. It's already seen enough jolting to last it a decade."

"But piggy-back's more fun," Naruto replied with a mock pout but did as he was told. He leaned over and lifted Sakura up.

Gaara picked up her crutches and her coke before falling into step next to Tenten, following Naruto towards the nearby entrance.

Once they were in the car and driving towards the nearest hospital, Naruto let out a deep breath over the steering wheel. "Hell, that was one big scare you gave me, Sakura," he exclaimed. "I honestly didn't know what to think."

Tenten, riding shotgun, slapped him in the back. "You and me both. I was on the verge of attacking the other drivers when we were caught in that freaking gridlock."

Sakura looked apologetic. "I'm really sorry," she said.

"Don't be," Tenten told her, turning towards the back seat. "Thankfully you're alright."

"Yeah," Naruto conceded, turning on the wipers on the windshield. The drizzling rain was still falling steadily.

"It was quick thinking on your part calling Gaara like that," the brown haired woman said. "We were able to take it easier knowing he was on his way."

"If there's someone you can count on in an emergency it's him. Right Gaara?" he asked, looking at the redhead through the rear-view mirror. "All that military training has got to count for something."

Gaara merely grunted in response.

"But hell, when you said you were going to run all the way to the shopping cent-"

"Who says I didn't?" the redhead interrupted with sneer.

Naruto sighed. "You military bozos and your tendency to think you're invincible."

"You weren't complaining about it a minute ago when you said my training came in handy," he replied nastily. "You ought to get your story straight."

Tenten snorted.

"Yes, well... oh alright!" Naruto conceded in defeat.

Sakura smiled, leaning her head backwards on the seat. Her churning emotions were finally settling down for good. In all honesty, she wasn't sure what she would've done if Gaara hadn't arrived when he had. His stoic demeanour had greatly helped to ground her wayward feelings. His arrival had been similar to dropping a heavy anchor in the middle of a raging sea. It was surprising for him to have gained her trust so undeservedly without her really noticing. The only other person who had ever affected her in such a way was Naruto. Strange how, despite having opposed personalities, the two of them could have the same anchoring effect on her.

She turned her head and looked at Gaara, who was staring out the opposite window of the back seat. His hair was still damp as was his t-shirt. "Gaara, you really should go home and change," she told him. "It wouldn't do for you to catch cold because of this fiasco of mine."

"I'm perfectly fine," he informed her dismissively.

Tenten turned to look him over, as if only then realizing that he'd been under the rain. "Dammit Gaara, why didn't you say something?"

"There wasn't any need," he replied snidely. "You think a little water's going to do anything to me? I've spent entire days knee-deep in bog and mire, so you can sto-"

"Yeah, like we give a damn what you used to do!" Naruto told him hotly. "I'm not going to have you getting sick, not on my watch. There's a bag under the back seat. I always have an extra change of clothes on hand. You should find a shirt in there."

Grumbling about over-protective dimwits, Gaara reached under the seat and produced the aforementioned bag. He rummaged through it, finding a navy blue polo shirt. He stripped off his damp t-shirt and put it on, finding it was a surprisingly good fit. A bit tight across the chest but a good fit nonetheless. Crumpling up his wet shirt he placed it under the seat next to the bag.

As soon as they got to the hospital, Tenten procured a wheel chair for Sakura. Thanks to Naruto's overly sociable nature when it came to his professional career, he had contacts in the hospital. Thus, they were able to slip Sakura into a spot on the MRI list which meant she would only have to wait for a couple of hours. It turned out she also knew some of the doctors.

"What a small world it is in the medical field," Gaara remarked to Tenten, his voice laced in sarcasm.

She chuckled. "You didn't know?" she asked him with a glint in her eyes. "We at the Kyuubi Clinic have lots of strings to pull all over town."

He knew the remark was inoffensive but the redhead couldn't help feel a certain kind of apprehension at the possibility. For this bunch of lunatic physiotherapists to have a powerful influence over anything or anyone didn't bode well for the world. It was enough to make a brave man have serious considerations about fleeing.

Naruto left Sakura filling out some papers and approached them. "Well, they're going to take her up. The prep shouldn't take so long and they want her to be ready just in case a spot on the MRI opens up sooner," he told them. "Only one of us is allowed to go up with her."

"You go up," Tenten told him even though there really wasn't any other choice. Naruto was the one who had been standing next to Sakura in every other medical procedure she'd been through since the accident. "We can wait down here."

"You sure?" he asked. "You can take my pickup and head back to the clinic."

"And then how are you taking Sakura home?" Tenten asked him with narrowed eyes. "No, you keep the car and keep her company. Gaara and I will stay down here. I was able to postpone my appointments until after lunch so I'm in no hurry. It's only 10 o'clock."

"Alright, alright," Naruto replied with a grin. "I'll call you or text you with any advancement."

"Which reminds me, Gaara," Tenten accused. "I don't have you cell phone number."

"I don't either!" Sakura contributed. She had finished filling out the forms and had asked a nurse to push her over to where they were standing.

The redhead blinked. "Well, I haven't had a reason of giving it to you," he replied testily at the double accusation.

"You do now!" Tenten told him, flipping out her phone. "Today made it clear that we need it in case of emergency," she finished telling him with a cheery grin.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed taking out her own phone as well.

Gaara stood there looking mutinous.

"They've badgered you into a corner now," Naruto remarked with a laugh. "You'd better admit defeat and give it to them. Besides, if you don't do it yourself, I can always give it to them."

Jade eyes glared openly at him. "Alright, fine." He took out his phone and they exchanged calls to store each other's numbers.

"Haruno-san?" an intern asked politely. "You can go up now. They're ready for you upstairs."

"Thank you," Sakura replied, looking up at the young man.

"Let's go!" Naruto said. He stepped behind Sakura and started pushing her towards the elevator doors at the end of the hall. "See you guys later."

"Good luck!" Tenten called out with a wave.

Sakura turned round to wave back. She graced Gaara with a smiling nod before disappearing behind the closing doors.

"Well, let's find ourselves a place to sit," Tenten remarked, visibly deflating. "That was way too much upheaval to start the day with. It's not even midday and I'm already exhausted."

Gaara turned a derisive jade gaze towards her. "You wouldn't have lasted a day in the military," he told her condescendingly.

"Watch it, marine," she remarked, swatting him on the back. "Just because I wasn't a soldier like you doesn't mean I'm not dangerous."

The redhead snorted in reply and started walking down the corridor. Tenten grinned as she fell into step beside him. After asking and strolling for a few minutes, they found one of the hospital waiting rooms on the first floor. There was a varied assortment of people lounging on the chairs and the two of them made their way towards the back. There was a coffee machine in one corner and Gaara headed directly towards it.

Much to Tenten's surprise, he turned up with two coffee cups when he came back.

"Latte," she remarked ecstatically as she sipped the hot brew. "How did you know I liked it th-"

The redhead made a rude noise in the back of his throat. "How can I _not_ know how you drink your coffee after seeing you have some almost every morning for the past months?"

Tenten's brown eyes were wide with surprise. Never in her life would she have expected Gaara to be so observant. "Is that so?" she asked in a teasing tone. "Impress me then. How does Neji like his coffee?"

"Mostly black with a couple of squirts of milk," he told her without hesitation. "He rarely puts sugar in it."

She gaped. "How the hell did you..." she started to say but cut herself short. "How about Lee?" she asked challengingly.

"He drinks latte too but he puts so much sugar in it, I'm not sure I'd call it coffee anymore," Gaara remarked with a disgusted look in his face. "And before you ask, Naruto prefers cappuccino, extra foamy if he can have it."

Tenten threw her head back and laughed. Who would've guessed they had a veritable spy on their hands? The man was insanely aware of detail. From the looks of him no one would have ever guessed he paid so much attention. "How about Sakura?" she asked, still chuckling.

"She drinks it with powdered cream instead of milk and uses artificial sweetener," the redhead informed her.

"Well marine, you have officially impressed me," she conceded. "I had no idea you were so focused on this sort of details. It seems like nothing gets past you!"

Gaara's lips curved upwards, his face looking slightly rueful. "My life depended on how much information I could gather at times. The habit's completely engrained in me. There's things I automatically notice and then file them away, though now they might be completely useless."

"Well, I'm glad you do," Tenten told him, reaching out to squeeze his arm slightly. "Now I know who I'm going to ask to get me coffee at the clinic. You know exactly how I like it!"

"Don't get any ideas," he replied, his expression suddenly irritated.

Tenten just grinned quietly and continued to drink from her cup.

The two of them sat for an hour and a half, reading whatever magazines were around and talking sporadically, before they got a text message from Naruto. Sakura was all prepped up and they were waiting to be called in. Around five minutes after that Tenten received a call from Lee. From the part of the conversation Gaara was listening to, it was easy to surmise that there was some kind of issue going on.

"I'm going to have to back to the clinic," she told him when she hung up. "One of Lee's old ladies is coming over earlier than usual and since it's only him and Neji handling all the clients, they're a bit tight at the moment."

The redhead nodded. "How are you getting back?"

"I'll just grab a cab. There isn't much traffic at this hour," she replied, standing up.

Gaara stood with her. "I think I'll go search for something to eat," he said.

"There's a cafeteria on the second floor," she told him. "You should buy something now before the lunch throng comes rushing through the doors. Never underestimate hungry nurses and doctors!"

They walked out of the waiting room and down the hall towards the hospital exit. When they reached the corridor juncture where the elevators were located, they stopped to exchange goodbyes.

"Make sure Sakura gets some rest after this," Tenten told him. "I know Naruto usually has things in hand but he can be a bit overbearing sometimes."

"As if I didn't know that," the redhead replied sarcastically.

She grinned. "Sakura will most likely not take well to his domineering but if you're the one who's telling her, I'm sure she'll listen."

Gaara blinked. "Why would she listen to me?"

Tenten laughed, shaking her head. "Now who's the one who isn't noticing the details? You two get along rather well and believe me, she values your opinion; sometimes even more than ours because you've been where she's been."

The bewilderment on his face made it clear he had no idea of what to make of this revelation.

"You really need to start giving yourself more credit, marine," she told him softly. "You're not half as bad as you would want the world to think."

To Gaara's utter surprise, she stepped up to him and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for everything you did today. All of us are amazingly grateful."

As he watched Tenten walk away, making her way hurriedly out of the hospital, the redhead couldn't help but feel that odd gratifying sensation overcome him again. There he'd been, worrying about how he should react around these people and not knowing where he stood among them.

But it seemed he did have this friendship thing pinned down. He just had to be himself.

With that strangely satisfying thought, he stepped towards the open doors of the nearby elevator.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Sakura rose slowly up to consciousness. As she did so, pain erupted on the left side of her body, reminding her of the fall she'd suffered earlier in the day. But the edge of the pain was dulled thanks to the medicine she'd taken and despite the discomfort, she felt completely at ease.

She really didn't know how long it had been since the last time she'd felt anything even similar. To fall asleep without any worry of shadows coming to haunt her, to know there really was nothing to worry about at present; it was a concept she had been completely estranged from since the accident. But wonder of wonders, here she was.

Sakura could not help but feel amazed at the difference the presence of the man next to her made.

Opening her eyes, she stole a glance at Gaara under her lashes. He was sitting up against the headboard of her hotel bed, the TV remote in his hand.

After she had come out of the MRI, the exhaustion had finally caught up to her after the frenzied morning she had had. Her fall hadn't resulted in any damage to her injured knee and she only came out sporting a few bruises. Even though she may be sore for the next few days, she was overcome with relief at the results of the MRI. When she allowed herself to relax, the fatigue had finally gotten the best of her.

Naruto promptly called for lunch and after they met Gaara on the first floor, they took her to the closest burger place and bought her some food. A discussion had afterwards ensued, with Naruto refusing to leave Sakura by herself (another fall was the last thing they needed); he determined that she should either go to the clinic and sleep there in one of the back rooms or allow him to take him to his house where Kiba could take her of her (being a dog breeder, he worked at home). Sakura had vehemently refused both options; she could very well take care of herself and all she wanted was to go sleep the afternoon away in her hotel room.

The two of them had gone at it for a while. Gaara just sat back and sipped on his soft drink, admitting both of them had a point: Sakura shouldn't remain by herself when she was clearly sore after her fall yet it was best for her to stay somewhere where she could rest properly and where her sleep wouldn't be interrupted. Luckily, the redhead provided a solution to the problem.

"I can stay with her," he'd offered stoically.

The two of them had stared blankly at him for a moment; clearly the thought hadn't occurred to them.

Naruto rallied first. "That's it! Swell idea!"

Sakura shook her head. "Seriously Gaara, you really don't need to go out of your way to-"

"I'm not going out of my way," he'd informed her. "It's not like I have anything to do this afternoon. It's past my appointment already. Not to mention the fact that my physiotherapist isn't even at the clinic." He finished his sentence with a poignant stare at Naruto.

The two of them grimaced slightly at this. "I promise we'll train double during the weekend," Naruto said apologetically.

"Sorry Gaara," Sakura said. "I didn't mean for it to take this lon-"

But he interrupted her again. "It's not like you planned your accident," he scoffed. "There was nothing you could do. Besides, all of us came here willingly."

"True!" Naruto agreed with a wide grin. "So that's settled."

"But what are you going to do all afternoon while I sleep off the effects of my meds?" Sakura asked.

The redhead had grinned deviously then. "I'll watch TV. It seems there's lots of catching up I need to do in that department according to this blond idiot sitting here."

So he had. After Sakura was comfortably settled on the bed, he'd taken off his shoes and started flipping channels. Courtesy of the medication she'd been prescribed, a combination of painkillers and muscle relaxants, she drifted in a marvellous haze of comfort from which she would occasionally rise. She'd gain consciousness for a few moments but would not open her eyes, Gaara's presence in the bed next to her only adding to her soothing state. The afternoon passed in such a way, with her coming back and forth from the realm of slumber. The sound of the rain pattering on the glass of her room's window only helped to increase the sensation of calm cocooning her.

When the effects of her drugs finally started dissipating, it was already dark outside. When she peeked at Gaara behind half-opened eyes she noticed he'd turned on the lamp on the bedside table. His head was cocked to the side as if he was trying really hard to understand the program he was watching. From what Sakura could hear from the turned down volume, it was a reality show about women in a competition to get plastic surgery before their wedding.

She couldn't help giggling as his expression turned all the more dour.

At the sound, his jade eyes looked down at her. "Are you laughing in your sleep or are you awake?" he asked.

"I'm awake," she told him groggily. "I just found your expression greatly amusing"

"I don't think I've ever seen anything so blatantly retarded in my life" he retorted in vehemence. "I was forced to leave it on to see if I could understand what the hell these people get out of this."

"An image change and a chance at fame," Sakura replied, stretching slightly.

"I'd rather jump out of a plane without a parachute," he remarked acidly. "I'm glad I don't watch TV if this is the crap they have on. Naruto has to be out of his mind."

She chuckled at his disgusted tone. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Half past six," Gaara told her, turning to look at the digital clock on the night table. "I thought you would sleep more."

"The dose I took wasn't the strongest," she told him. "The pills I've got to take during the night are a whole lot more potent. I feel completely rested, though."

He nodded. "As you can see, you haven't been missing much with this crappy programming," he told her with derision, nodding towards the TV.

She smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry you had to put up with it."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It helped me reinforce my view that 99.9% of the human race is made up of imbeciles."

Sakura laughed, the movement letting her know she was in dire need of using the toilet. "Gaara, I have to pee really badly," she told him.

He got up and walked up to the small desk where her crutches were propped up against. "Lean on me while you stand," he told her.

She was about to protest but as she made to sit up, all the pains on the left side of her body exploded at the same time. Sakura groaned and was forced to take it slowly.

"It's a bitch how bruises spring to life after they've had time to fester," Gaara remarked. He leaned down and wrapped his good arm around her, mindful of her battered state. After Sakura had a good grip on his arm, he lifted her up and held her there until she was finally steadily balanced on her uninjured leg. He handed her the crutches then.

Even though she was amazingly sore, Sakura was very grateful Gaara hadn't offered to carry her into the bathroom. Naruto would have been all over her and would have never allowed her to walk by herself. But the redhead was different; he knew it was important for her to do this on her own. Once again she was overcome by amazement at how very accurate his perception was. He seemed to know what it was that she needed without her having to say anything.

As she made her way towards the bathroom, the redhead plunked back down on the bed and changed the channel. Even though his stance was relaxed, he was completely focused on Sakura. He was here to prevent her from having another accident, after all. But he knew very well how annoying it was to be smothered. Besides, the sooner she got her self-confidence back the better. Gaara had had all afternoon to think about her incident that morning and how she had, quite surprisingly, accepted him as a lifeline. At one point he thought spending the afternoon in her hotel room with her would turn awkward after she woke up but it hadn't. As a matter of fact, the two of them behaved like if they'd known each other for a long time and their exchanges were completely natural.

The redhead vaguely wondered what the self-proclaimed Physiotherapy Brigade and its weird ways had done to him. The next thing he knew he would be striking up conversations with strangers on the street.

When Sakura closed the bathroom door behind her, Gaara was pleased to notice she didn't lock the door. The woman had more sense than that. She was very much aware that if she tripped or needed assistance of any kind, he would come rushing in. That was one of the things he appreciated the most in Sakura, her unpretentiousness. There was no room to be embarrassed in regards to the things that really mattered. He heard her rummaging inside the toilet after a while and heard her brush her teeth. The door opened eventually and Gaara noticed she had washed her face and had changed her top.

"How did the mission go, cadet?" he teased despite himself.

"It went flawlessly. Thank you for the concern, captain," she countered with all seriousness and assuming a military demeanour.

This elicited a throaty laugh from the redhead. The roseate haired woman caught herself marvelling at the way his face transformed when he laughed. It made him look all the more handsome.

"It's been a while since anyone talked to me in that way," he remarked after his mirth had subsided.

"I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh," Sakura admitted, coming over to sit on the bed. It was quite a revelation to hear his full-out laughter. She'd found herself enjoying it immensely.

The redhead merely shrugged. "I guess I haven't had much to laugh at," he conceded. "But... I think that's actually changing," he confessed somewhat unexpectedly.

A swell of emotion threatened to overwhelm Sakura at such an artless admission. So much so she couldn't help but reach out and squeeze his hand.

"Well, you've got two choices," she informed him, finally finding her voice. "We can either go downstairs and eat at the hotel restaurant or you run down the street to the deli and buy us something."

He grinned. "What do you prefer?" he asked. As he spoke, it suddenly occurred to him that this was the first time in his entire life he actually asked someone that question.

"I'm fine with either," Sakura said with a shrug. "But if you do go to the deli, I'll go with you as far as the lobby. I may not want to move too much but I do want to step out for a change of air."

"Alright, then we can eat at the restaurant so you can be outside longer," he told her.

"My treat!" she exclaimed before coming to her feet on her crutches.

Gaara's expression turned ominous. "What's that supposed to mean?" He swung his legs off the bed and reached for his shoes.

"It means I'm buying you dinner, captain," she said, mock saluting him.

This made him grin but he still didn't look completely convinced. "We'll see about that, cadet."

Sakura stuck out her tongue at him as she rummaged through the small wardrobe to one side of the door for a jacket. She finally found the grey hoodie she was searching for and put it on, balancing herself on her crutches one arm at a time.

"It's the least I can do," she told him. "You went to my rescue this morning, after all."

"Alright," he finally conceded when she put it that way. It was rather bizarre to accept compensation for something that had come as second-nature to him. Reacting fast and effectively in a crisis was what he'd been trained for. But accepting Sakura's gratitude in such a way wouldn't kill him. As a matter of fact, he might just learn something from it. "But then I'm buying dessert," he finally added.

She laughed wholeheartedly at this, making him stop a moment to appreciate the genuineness of her smile. It seemed he really was getting the knack of this whole interpersonal interaction thing.

"You've got yourself a deal," she replied. She stepped towards the door, picking up her hotel key-card and purse in the process.

The strange rewarding feeling that had been visiting him sporadically all through the day returned as Gaara closed the door behind him. He walked down the corridor towards the elevators besides Sakura, silently pondering what other strange emotions he had yet to discover.

Much as he hated to admit it, the Physiotherapy Brigade might just be the making of him.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

It was late in the night by the time Gaara pulled out his keys and opened the door to his apartment. He'd left Sakura sleeping soundly, settled in for the night and under the effects of her medication. A few minutes after she had taken her pills, her eyes closed of their own accord. Gaara had called Naruto to let him know he was leaving. The blond said he would be there first thing in the morning to check on her and had enthusiastically thanked the redhead once more. He told him all of them had been amazingly grateful for everything he'd done. He was so forthcoming in his thanks it had made Gaara feel slightly embarrassed. It truly had been a day for bizarre emotions.

After dinner, he'd sat with Sakura in one of the adjacent lobbies of the hotel, one that overlooked a small garden. They'd talked for a while and the redhead was satisfied to note she seemed to be completely recovered from the shock she had suffered that morning. After the panic attack and the subsequent stress, it would have been easy for her to fall back into an anxious mind frame. But it had been completely the opposite. She had chatted happily with him and smiled frequently, making it evident that she was genuinely enjoying his company.

Her inner strength had never been more apparent; the ease with which she managed to put a trying incident behind her spoke volumes about the steel backbone of this roseate haired woman. It was partly the reason why Gaara enjoyed being with her so much. Her sturdy personality was one of the things he admired and appreciated the most about her.

And then there was the way she smiled and treated him like if she truly valued him; as if she truly appreciated his opinions and had no doubt about his worth. The natural manner with which she referred to him, unafraid of teasing and making jokes (sometimes at his expense!), made him feel welcomed in a way he had never felt before.

It was an alien concept for Gaara, to have someone smile at him because they genuinely appreciated him and not because they had an ulterior motive. Tenten's remarks about giving himself more credit came back to him. He had to admit she was right: Sakura really did value what he thought and there was undoubtedly a sense of sharing the same experiences between them. He had no idea of how things had progressed to this level but he wasn't about to lie to himself.

It felt good.

Thinking he had someone who liked him because of who he truly was triggered an unprecedented sense of elation within his chest. Not to mention that the realization that other people had been genuinely grateful for the things he had done also provoked certain fizzy sensations. And when he thought that, utterly unexpectedly, he now had a place where he belonged and a group of people who welcomed him as one of their own, he couldn't help but feel incredulous yet remarkably content.

Shaking his head in astonishment, he stepped into his apartment and turned on the kitchen lights. He opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of apple juice but before he could take a sip, his cell phone started ringing.

Gaara glowered in consternation. Who the blazes would be calling at this hour?

He pulled out his cell phone from his jeans' pocket and answered.

"Yo, Rookie!" greeted an eerily familiar voice.

A chill of unease crawled down Gaara's spine. "How the _hell_ did you get this number?" he exclaimed through clenched teeth, violently squeezing the juice carton in his hand.

Deidara merely chuckled. "What can I say, you know I've always been a resourceful man, un. Not to mention that the hospital computer network has more holes in its security than Orochimaru on the day he departed from this world. Poor bastard, he never knew what hit him."

The redhead slammed the carton on the kitchen counter. "Cut the crap, Deidara. What do you want?"

"What, no chitchat? And after all the effort I took in rolling my wheel chair over to the floor's main desk. I had to hack into the computer, you wouldn't believe the ridiculous code name they've got you under! Then I had Sasori snag this cell phone from a nurse. How ungrateful of you, Rookie," he replied in mock hurt.

"Sasori?" Gaara exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, the poor sod woke up. He never knew what was good for him, un" Deidara remarked. The grin in his voice was evident. "Of course, it's not like he's made a completely functional comeback. He forgets how to use a fork most of the time and there's some really screwed up blank patches in his memory. He always remembers me though, unfortunately. But since he can move around while I'm plastered to a damned wheel chair, he's been rather useful when it comes to running errands, un."

"What the hell have you been up to?" Gaara asked, dreading the answer.

"Have some faith in us, Rookie," the other man replied with a laugh. He was clearly enjoying this whole conversation. "We've just been doing some information gathering, that's all."

The redhead remained silent. All he wanted to do was hang up the phone. He wanted to cut all his ties with his past, once and for all. Nothing good would come from associating with his ex-comrades, he knew that very well.

But despite himself, he continued to listen to the man on the other side of the line.

"I really hate to put a damper on your life, Rookie, but you know very well I wouldn't be calling for no reason," Deidara said, his tone sobering.

Gaara had no need to be informed of that. He was painfully aware that the convalescent man wouldn't have bothered to go through all this trouble to contact him just for kicks. The uneasiness surging within him rose even more. There was no way this conversation could end well.

"Out with it," he told the blond, his tone lethal.

Deidara was silent for a few seconds before he spoke, his voice solemn. "The commander is on the loose."

"What?" the redhead countered harshly, incredulous. "How is that possible? The military would never allow that."

"That's what we thought as well," Deidara replied, "but it seems we underestimated him. Remember the whole set-up theory we discussed? There was a trial over the incident that landed us in the hospital but something went seriously wrong for whoever tried to screw up the commander. Pein was found innocent and was given unlimited free leave from duties. You know what that means."

"He's going to go on a revenge spree to find whoever set him up."

"Exactly, un. There will be bloody murder and in his view, all of us are suspects. It's not like we were a happy-go-lucky unit where everyone got along," he finished with a deprecating chuckle.

"How many of you are still alive?" Gaara asked. He certainly would not want to be in any of their shoes.

"No bloody clue. I've hacked into the records of other hospitals but everything has been covered up. Konan has outdone herself in manipulating the information so none of us have any chance to communicate with each other."

"Alright, I get it. But what the hell do I have to do with any of this?" the redhead asked, his temper rising to the fore.

"That all this could have been easily perpetrated by someone on the outside, someone with enough skill and knowledge who holds a grudge against Phantasma; a psychologically disturbed someone who wants nothing else but to exterminate the platoon that ruined his life and especially its leader."

"What?" Gaara asked, his muscles frozen.

"Rookie, Pein knows you're alive."

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><p>YOSH, leave your comments at the door! :D<p> 


	8. The Awning of Unexpected Possibilities

**A/N:** Gotta apologize for my lack of updates once again. I was kind of caught in a time warp and had no idea how long it had been since I'd sat down to write some fanfiction. Life has a tendency to do that I'm afraid, especially when times tends to fly by at light speed and you're scrambling in your attempt to keep up.

But I'll shut up now. Hope you enjoy this chapter! I've got the next one almost completed as it is so I can promise a much quicker update this time around. Cross my heart!

As always, thanks for reading guys!

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><p><strong>Chapter VIII – THE AWNING OF UNEXPECTED POSSIBILITIES<strong>

**~xxx~**

"I did it!" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs. "I finally did it!"

A trill of ecstatic laughter followed her triumphant shout as she threw herself without restraint at Naruto.

His own shouts of glee echoing across the clinic, he enveloped her in a bear hug before picking her up and spinning her in his arms. The two of them laughed together, sharing the victory their joint efforts had won them that day.

After weeks of working on her knee, Sakura had finally managed to walk across the room and back by herself using the parallel support bars. When before she could barely make is halfway across before needing to stop, she had made a whole round trip from one side of the room to the other without needing Naruto's assistance even once.

Both physiotherapist and patient were overcome with elation, uncaring of the spectacle they were putting on before the other clients currently present at the clinic.

Leaning against the wall near the entrance of the main exercise room, Gaara couldn't help but respond to the delight on Sakura's face. She had just conquered an important battlefield in her campaign to overcome her disability and she had succeeded with flying colours. The redhead knew how important such events were; he remembered the first time he'd been able to pick up something again with his left arm after months of his shoulder being useless. Elation mixed with the determination to keep going no matter the frustration was heady and it fuelled one's resolve into maintaining the hard fight.

A grin spread across his face before he could check it and he chuckled appreciatively when Sakura had to smack Naruto on the head because he refused to put her down. Once he did so, she hopped on one leg towards the parallel lines, leaning against them so she could balance herself on one leg. She laughed again and lifted her eyes to where Gaara was standing.

"Did you see that?" she shouted from the other side of the room. "I finally did it!"

The redhead's smiled widened and he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Ah, the unrelenting power of youth!" Lee exclaimed, coming to stand beside Gaara. "It can overcome any adversity. It conquers every single time!"

The redhead inwardly groaned, dreading whatever forthcoming comment that might come from Lee's mouth. Much to his chagrin, his ability to predict the quirky man's inane remarks proved to be accurate.

"See, next time you succeed at something you should do as Sakura did," Lee said, his eyes filled with enthusiasm, "you jump straight into Naruto's arms and celebrate!"

"I will do no such thing!" Gaara bellowed vehemently in response.

Yet Lee, as always, was impervious to the threat of his temper. "Come, let us practice," he told Gaara instead. "Jump towards me and I'll catch you!"

He took a step back and opened his arms in readiness.

It was too much for Gaara to handle. His vision went red and he turned menacingly towards Lee.

"The only thing I'll be practicing is bashing your head against the wall until your brains come out," he informed the other man, his voice deadly.

"Whoa there, marine!" Tenten interrupted with a chuckle, suddenly coming between them. "No need to harass the staff."

"I'm the one being harassed _by_ the staff," Gaara countered hotly.

Tenten grinned at him but spoke to Lee. "The last of your clients just arrived," she told him, "they're in the waiting room."

"Yosh! We'll have to leave the celebration practice for another time, Gaara," he said before making his way down the corridor, giving him a thumbs-up in farewell.

The redhead ground his teeth, taking a step to follow him and effectively act out his threat.

With a laugh, Tenten predictably stepped in his path again and prevented him from going any further.

"I could sue him, you know," Gaara told her angrily. "I could sue him for irreparable psychological damage."

Her smile only widened. "You could but then, you would have to look for another clinic with a staff willing to tolerate your grouchiness and wouldn't that be impossible to find."

Jade eyes glared openly at her but, just like Lee, she was unaffected by his menacing demeanour. There was just no getting through to these insane physiotherapists he had saddled himself with.

"Did you see me?" said a thrilled voice behind them. "I did it all on my own!"

Sakura was approaching the two of them using only one of her crutches, her face lit up with delight.

Tenten walked over to meet her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "I didn't get to see it but I surely heard you," she said with a laugh. "Congrats!"

"Thank you!" Sakura replied happily. "I have officially graduated from this phase of the treatment. Naruto says I can start using only one crutch now. If I keep this up, I might be able to start using only a cane real soon."

Gaara couldn't help surveying her as she spoke, noticing the way her eyes were virtually sparkling. Though Sakura's accident one week before hadn't resulted in any damage to her knee, he knew Naruto had been slightly apprehensive with pushing her too hard due to the resulting bruises. Yet Sakura had risen resilient and despite the lingering aches, had managed to achieve a great success only one week after her fall.

Once again, Gaara couldn't help but admire the unwavering willpower that characterised the roseate haired woman. It coloured everything she did and made her all the more exceptional in his eyes.

Tenten squeezed her friend one last time in congratulations before walking off to assist the last of her own clients. Similarly, Naruto had stayed behind in the exercise room helping out one of the other patients who was having trouble with one of the rehabilitation machines. It was only one hour before closing time and the sky peeking through the glass doors leading to the garden was already growing dark.

Sakura walked up to stand next to Gaara, the wide smile on her face still lingering. "How about we go out for dinner to celebrate my triumph? I know it's still early but I'm famished. I had a really early lunch."

With the way she was practically glowing, the redhead would have been hard pressed to say no to her even if he'd wanted to. As it was, the idea of turning her down never even crossed his mind.

"Sure thing," he replied with a nod. "Any particular food preference?"

"Italian!" Sakura answered instantly. "I've been craving some good lasagna all week."

"Alright," he said, smiling at her. "I'll wait for you by the door."

"I'll be out in a flash," she promised him, making her way towards the clinic changing rooms.

Before long, Gaara opened the front door for her and the two of them stepped out into the cool city night.

"Where to?" he asked.

"We need to get a cab. The place I have in mind is across town," she replied.

Five minutes later, after Gaara had successfully hailed a taxi, they were making their way through the Konoha streets while sharing a companionable silence on the backseat. The redhead watched the city go by through the window, immersed in his own thoughts.

Though he hated to admit it, these escapades with Sakura were becoming more and more frequent. Not that there was anything wrong with them, not in the least. Yet the two of them had fallen into a sort of routine. Whenever their appointments at the clinic coincided, they had come to an unspoken agreement that they would leave in each other's company when they were finished. But lately, even when their appointments didn't coincide, they would naturally gravitate towards each other. If Gaara finished with his physiotherapy earlier than she did, he would hang around and wait for her; if Sakura was the one out early, she would stick around the clinic kitchen until he was done. Though neither of them had said anything outright, the two of them had concurred to wait for each other.

Not that they did much after leaving. As a matter of fact, others might consider it a tad dull if they found out the truth. Depending if it was late in the day, Gaara would just escort Sakura to her hotel entrance and then leave. If it was a tad earlier, they would just sit down at the nearby park and chat for a bit over the most inconsequential things. At the most they would buy some iced coffee or eat dinner together, like they were about to do right now. Despite the marked lack of excitement, the redhead was increasingly treasuring these quiet moments by her side.

There was no need for pretence whenever he was around Sakura. No need to watch what he said or to be careful with his actions. She accepted him at face value. Sure, Gaara might make mistakes or she might not agree with his view of things but Sakura never made him feel inadequate. There was unconditional acceptance when it came to their growing bond and it was something that made the redhead feel a tad disconcerted sometimes. It wasn't a sentiment he was used to, acceptance. One always had to watch out for the hidden motives of everyone around you; it was necessary to tread on your toes and to watch over your shoulder at all times. It was a basic principle in life.

Yet, despite himself, whenever he was around Sakura he felt his defences shift. They were still there most definitely; he didn't think anything or anyone in this world would be able to make him discard them. But whenever the roseate haired woman did something that caught him off guard or whenever she acted on his behalf without really expecting anything in return, Gaara felt the concrete walls of the bunker he'd erected around his inner self flex. They twisted and created an opening; a small breach through which Sakura could slip through.

And the most amazing thing of all was that he didn't mind.

Gaara didn't care that she managed to slip through. As a matter of fact, if he was entirely honest, it felt good. He liked how she managed to trigger things within him that no one else ever had; he enjoyed having her push his limits. He was discovering things about human interaction he had never thought possible before and though he was still somewhat apprehensive in regards to his reviving humanity, one thing was perfectly clear: it couldn't have been anyone else but Sakura. Before he could do anything about it, she had slipped through and his inner defences had tightened around her and refused to let her go. Gaara didn't know what this meant; he was only sure of what he was feeling. After having denied himself the opportunity to experience these kinds of emotions for his whole life, he was still an amateur at it. Nonetheless, this didn't mean he wasn't certain of what he was feeling. He might not be able to accurately describe or understand what was going on inside him but he was very much aware of a rather prominent change within him.

While he had fought it before and had felt disconcerted because of it, he was over that phase now. Having come to Sakura's rescue and the resulting gratitude he'd been showered with in that regard had allowed his uncertainty to settle. He'd found that some truths had been easier to accept than he'd initially thought. Friendship, much to his complete astonishment, was not a burden after all. It was useless sometimes to fight against the tide, Gaara knew. Sometimes you had to allow yourself to be swept away since resistance would only lead you to drown yourself while you struggled. It was best to see where the current would lead you, thinking your way through as you went.

Personally, he did not have a clue as to what the final outcome might be. But he was unfazed in regards to this. Whatever the hurdle, he would overcome it like he had always done. It was just a matter of adapting and working things out as they came along. If there was something he had learned during his long years in Phantasma it was that, most of the time, planning never got you anywhere. The unexpected had a rather insistent tendency of showing up to bite you in the rear and all your carefully laid out plans would end up counting for absolutely nothing. So no, he was not about to get ahead of himself.

His long months of physical rehabilitation had made it clear that patience was an invaluable asset. It was also something he'd always lacked. Thus, as things stood, life was throwing a thousand things his way and he was being forced to deal with them all at the same time. It seemed to be making up for all those years he'd refused to listen; all those years he'd spent immersed in a red haze of killing instincts and all-consuming rage.

Well, he was listening now. Life was free to throw whatever it wanted at him. He would just have to learn to effectively sidestep to avoid a direct hit. After all, Gaara had always thrived on challenges.

Yet he wasn't stupid. The redhead knew there were always risks involved. In point of fact, he was rather greatly aware of the particular dangers circling round his person. Courtesy of the lunatic pair of ex-comrades in arms he had inadvertently stumbled upon, he had more information about his past life than he cared to have.

His phone conversation with Deidara still triggered some rather raw emotions inside him. Disbelief was a prominent one; to think a previous member of Phantasma would actually go out of his way to warn another about his safety was nothing short of ludicrous. For this to happen when they were in the line of duty, and grudgingly forced to cover each other's backs, it wouldn't have been so bad; it might have been a long shot yet still plausible. But for Deidara to call him and alert him in regards to the actions of their ex-commander when he had long ceased to be part of Phantasma?

Complete and utter rubbish. Gaara would have cut off his right hand swearing it wasn't possible.

Yet here he was, officially warned by Deidara and the amnesiac Sasori.

Sometimes, like right now, he had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Of course, with the insinuations of what he'd been informed, anger had quickly followed behind disbelief. That he would be implicated in an event that had occurred after he had long since ceased to have any kind of connection with Phantasma was something that rustled the dormant beast within. It was half awake now, waiting patiently in a corner of Gaara's mind. With the slightest provocation, it would stir to life and not even his obstinate willpower would be able to keep it in check.

Not that he wanted to. He had no intention of holding the beast back if a threat to the hard won balance he had achieved in his life arose.

Looking up at the happy woman sitting on the other side of the cab seat, Gaara knew with chilling certainty there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect her. Nothing he wouldn't do to keep her away from harm. And not only her, he reluctantly admitted, but the self-proclaimed Physiotherapy Brigade as well. Just like Sakura had wormed her way within, so had the other members of the clinic. As much as he hated to acknowledge it, they were now part of this new life he was making for himself; they were a building block of it at that. Gaara would not allow any threat to their safety or any danger to come near them.

Such protective instincts were a rather novel experience for him but much to his surprise, he actually welcomed them. After having spent the entirety of his adult life fighting for someone else's cause and doing someone else's dirty work without caring what the reasons behind it all were, it was rather refreshing to have something worth exerting himself for. To have something he truly cared for as the foundation for his actions. It was a rather alien concept for him and one he was learning how to deal with as he went but Gaara couldn't help feeling justified in stance. The strength he'd always prided himself in could now be put to some productive use and not to mindless killing and rampant destruction. For the first time in his entire life, there was a cause behind his actions now.

Of course, this didn't mean his ruthlessness had lessened. Not in the least. Point of fact, it might just have become keener. If an actual threat came up and the danger to those around him became a reality, Gaara held no qualms in dealing out merciless punishment to whoever it was behind the menace. He would maim, pummel and destroy. That much was certain. He would cut through whatever enemy crossed his path and would eradicate any threat, just like he'd always done. His past, at least, had served for that much.

Before, he'd been criticised because of his supposed arrogance. But the others had never understood; it was not arrogance that fuelled him, it was an encompassing certainty that left no room for doubt. During his years as a lethal operative, once he had an objective in mind he set out to achieve it without the possibility of him failing ever crossing his mind. Gaara knew his skills and knew his limitations, which meant he could work around them. A cold and calculating mind coupled with a body keenly honed to be a killing weapon had turned him into an unstoppable force. What others mistook for overconfidence was in fact a sense of absolute assurance. There was nothing anyone could throw at him that he wouldn't be able to overcome, sidestep or directly destroy. His recovering shoulder injury was just the latest entry in a long list of similar experiences. Time and time again he had proven this as fact throughout the years until he'd finally become one of Phantasma's most valuable assets.

Hence, if his ex-commander showed up at his door and threatened the peaceful existence he had been able to recently attain, Gaara knew exactly what he would do.

He would kill Pein.

It was as simple and straightforward as that.

They might end up destroying each other in the process; his commander was, after all, one of the deadliest men walking the face of the world. But the end result would be the same: Pein would die. In this way, the threat he posed would be eradicated and those Gaara cared for would be safe.

He had already given up too many things for Phantasma's sake. Gaara had renounced his humanity and had forsaken his soul all on behalf of the deadly platoon. He might have been indifferent to what he was doing back then but he certainly was not indifferent now. The time for sacrificing was long past; he would not allow Phantasma to take anything else away. Not while he still drew breath.

With this resolute thought in mind, he noticed the cab pulling up to the curb. They had finally arrived at the Italian restaurant Sakura had chosen. As distracted as he was, she had taken out her wallet before he could do anything and was already paying the driver.

Once he'd assisted her out of the car, Gaara narrowed her eyes at her. "Alright, I'm paying for dinner then," he remarked gruffly.

Sakura chuckled at him and swatted him playfully on the chest. "In that case, I'm eating a full course meal!" she teased.

The unamused look he threw her way only made her laugh all the harder.

As she proceeded to make her way towards the restaurant door, Gaara turned to follow her, her carefree laughter still ringing in his ears.

There was nothing he would not do to prevent that sound from ever disappearing. He knew this for a fact. If he had to become a merciless killer once again, so be it. He would never regret his choice.

Nodding at himself with the certainty of his resolution, Gaara walked into the restaurant after Sakura. His turbulent emotions finally settling, he allowed himself to enjoy her company for the rest of the evening.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"It's an insult to my intelligence for you to think I haven't noticed!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura couldn't help snorting surreptitiously into the plastic container of the yogurt she was currently eating. "Haven't noticed what?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

The blond's bright blue eyes narrowed menacingly. "That you leave in his company every single day."

It was the middle of the afternoon and they were sitting in the clinic's kitchen. Sakura had just finished with her exercise routine and was waiting for Neji to finish up with another client so she could proceed with the second half of the day's therapy. Naruto, noticing her sitting by herself, had pounced on her with his rowdy yet well-meaning accusations.

If she hadn't been feeling so light-hearted, Sakura would have been annoyed at this unnecessary protectiveness. But the truth was not even Naruto's delusions of adopting the role of older brother could come between her and the fluttery happiness she felt within her. Not that anything out of the ordinary had happened; no, things were more or less practically the same. Yet there was an undercurrent of change flowing in the air that could not be denied.

And for the first time in a series of long months, Sakura was happily wondering just what the future might bring.

Sakura knew there were no heroes; no knights in shining armour. You didn't wake up one day to find a champion at your doorstep that would defeat the monster and take all your troubles away. Such a farce was something Sakura had learned firsthand to completely dismiss. In the real world, there was nothing for a girl to do but to save herself. It was common knowledge and the basis with which she lived her life.

You had to lick your wounds and get back up by yourself, time and time again.

But lately, she had been privy to a startling revelation: just because you had to save yourself didn't mean there weren't helping hands along the way. This didn't mean life wouldn't open doors for you, even though these openings would present themselves in the unlikeliest manners. You might not recognize them as a door to begin with, in fact; you might even pass them by without noticing them.

It was true: there had never been any heroes in Sakura's life. All because she been looking in all the wrong places and had been expecting all the wrong things.

Heroes didn't show up out of the blue to charge in. No. Heroes, as it turned out, had always been there, their heroic actions inconspicuous because of their subtlety. Hidden behind Naruto's hand whenever he helped her to get up after her knee had given way after a strenuous exercise, concealed behind Tenten's smile when she picked Sakura up so they could go get a pedicure and masked behind Neji's query of what she wanted to have for lunch. Heroic actions had always been categorized as extravagant and embellished. Heroes could be recognized thanks to the fantastical deeds they performed. But this concept, Sakura thought, was rather discriminating. It left no room for other types of heroes, for those who were there every day, living their lives just like everyone else. No room for those who, like Lee, would brew her favourite blend of coffee every single morning even though she might not have an early appointment and would only show up at the clinic until later.

It left no space for a prickly kind of hero with absolutely no social skills, one who would offer her comfort by just being his temperamental and cynical self.

No, Sakura realized, it hadn't been their fault she had believed they weren't there. It had been entirely hers. She had been duped by the popular belief of what being a hero was supposed to be like; she had believed it and had been left utterly disappointed. Bitter and jaded, she had scoffed and mocked, considering herself above any such ridiculousness. It hadn't been their fault, those heroes in her life, she had been too blind by her own harsh experiences to properly see them. She'd been rendered too insensitive by the past to realize what their actions truly meant.

Because in the end, this was her life; it was _her_ story. It was only fitting for her to be the leading heroine. Saving herself was an implicit necessity of her role in her own personal tale. But this didn't mean she wouldn't be accompanied by an array of spectacular supporting characters. Each one the hero in their own particular struggle, all of them intertwining and interacting in an attempt to make the best of what had been handed to them.

And as the leading heroine she was meant to be, it was her call to pick the one who would play her partner in this tale of hers. Before, Sakura had been attracted to darker types; dark eyes and dark hair had proved to be her undoing. This time around she found she was developing a noticeable fondness for reddish locks and viridian irises.

To her astounded surprise, she discovered she was ready to take a step in that direction once again. To begin to accept the possibility of being able to open her fragile heart once more in expectant hope of what might be. It had happened without her noticing. As such, she had been caught completely unawares. At some point between sharing casual chats at the clinic and him showing up to help her after her accident at the shopping centre, Sakura had found her heart shifting without her consent.

Independent and rebellious as it was, her heart had given way without her explicit permission. Now it craved Gaara's company and looked forward to seeing him. It forced her to think about him more often than not, luring her into picturing possibilities she had never contemplated before. Despite the fact that their relationship hadn't moved anywhere beyond friendship and was comprised of moments appropriate for a PG rated movie, Sakura couldn't help relish in the jittery feelings she was experiencing.

At one point after her accident, she resolutely believed she would never be able to experience such carefree emotions ever again in her life.

Sakura had never been happier to have been proven wrong.

Consequently, she was rather enjoying herself with Naruto. She knew deep down inside he didn't disapprove of her and Gaara's relationship. As a matter of fact, he had been the one who had encouraged it in the first place. It was just overprotective delusions that were coming to the fore again; he always had this reaction at first whenever it came to Sakura and boys. So in a sense, Sakura was delighting in the usual routine that came up whenever she showed interest in a member of the opposite sex. It was reassuring to know some things, despite the many changes that might take place around them, would always remain the same.

"You would be walking out of here holding hands if you didn't have to use a crutch to walk!" he accused, his arms crossed over his chest. He was making his best attempt to loom threateningly over her.

Poor man hadn't realized Sakura had been immune to his physical intimidation since back in elementary school. Once, she had punched him flat out for trying to use her bicycle without permission. After that there was nothing Naruto could ever do to regain an imposing stance in her regard.

But let him keep his illusions. It did no harm for him to live in his own little world.

Thus, Sakura turned sweet emerald eyes up to him and batted her eyelashes. "Don't be silly," she replied. "Gaara would never consent to something like holding hands."

Naruto gaped at her thinly veiled acceptance of what he was implying, resulting in Sakura laughing out loud at his expression.

"You...you... admit..." he stuttered.

She graced him with a haughty glance before turning back to her yogurt. "I'm not admitting anything. You're the one who came here and interrupted my snack time with your loud accusations."

His blue eyes narrowed once again. "But you're not denying it either!" he countered in irritation.

Sakura shrugged, dipping her spoon into the yogurt container to dig out the last of her snack. "You were the one who wanted us to be friends in the first place. Ask him about his life yourself, you said. So I did," she remarked.

"Yes but that didn't mean you were supposed to let him into your pan-" he came to an abrupt stop at the deadly glare she turned his way, "...into your life so easily," he quickly corrected himself.

"Now listen here, kiddo. You've got some guts parading in here with that little speech. Who was the one who invited Gaara into all our lives in the first place?" Sakura accused, her tone menacing. "Besides, I can be friends with whomever I want to."

"It's not the being friends part I'm worried about," Naruto mumbled before exclaiming. "I want to know just what his intentions are!"

"I'm sure he'll be happy to give you a direct answer," Sakura countered in dark amusement. "So why don't you ask Gaara yourself?"

The blond opened his mouth to reply but another voice, coming from kitchen doorway, beat him to it.

"Ask me what?"

The two of them turned to find the redhead they had been discussing standing there, his bag over his good shoulder. He had just walked into the clinic for his afternoon rehab appointment.

Sakura smiled sweetly at him and greeted him happily while Naruto levelled him with a glare.

From the look in his eyes, the redhead found the situation unusual but not unsurprising. For him it was just another strange event in the long line of erratic occurrences in the madcap physiotherapy clinic he frequented.

"What do you want to ask me about?" Gaara inquired again in an irritated tone. He hated having to repeat himself.

Sakura smiled expectantly at Naruto.

The blond was blushing from what she could guess what equal parts embarrassment and annoyance.

It was her turn to deliver her coup de grace. "He was wondering if you'd managed to pick up our movie tickets for tonight," she replied, smiling at the redhead. "Since I told him you haven't been to the movies in literally years, he was rather enthusiastic about you finally getting the chance. So he was offering to go get the tickets if you hadn't had time."

Gaara cocked his head thoughtfully to one side while he rummaged in the back pocket of his jeans. "No need, I picked them up on the way here," he said, brandishing two IMAX tickets in front of Naruto's eyes. "The movie's at seven."

"Perfect, that should give you enough time to finish with your routine and to shower afterwards," Sakura replied. "I'll wait for you here after I'm done with Neji."

The redhead nodded.

Naruto, who had been listening to this exchange while growing more agitated by the second, couldn't hold his ire in anymore and growled in frustration. He stomped his way over to Gaara and stood menacingly in front of the redhead.

"Oh you're in for it now, buster," he said, poking Gaara in the chest. "I'll have you begging for mercy after the routine I'll run you through today!"

Gaara, though he had absolutely no idea of what had riled Naruto up, was not about to back down. He'd never responded positively to hostility in his entire life; he wasn't about to start now. "I'd like to see you try, blondie" he replied scornfully, his jade eyes narrowing dangerously.

Much to Sakura's astonishment, the two of them proceeded to snarl at each other for a few intense moments.

"Break it up to you two," Tenten exclaimed from the corridor, "and let me pass. Take your testosterone hissy fit somewhere where it won't bother anyone else."

The two of them exchanged one more menacing glance before breaking apart, Gaara heading towards the changing room and Naruto walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. Tenten stepped into the kitchen, a coffee cup and a plate in her hands, shaking her head.

"What the hell is up with them?" she asked. "Like if we don't have enough to deal with already." She placed the dirty dishes in the sink and started to wash them.

Luckily, her question had been rhetorical and had no need to be answered. Thus, Sakura was left to her own devices in her attempt to stifle her growing mirth at the exchange she had just witnessed. She finished her yogurt with a flourish and decided that things could only get more interesting from now on.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"What were you really talking about with Naruto this afternoon?" Gaara asked her later.

He had just returned from buying some popcorn and soft drinks after escorting her to their seats first. Normally he would've allowed her to walk into the movie theatre by herself but since she had started using only one crutch until rather recently, the two of them thought it only right to be prudent. She had to descend a few steps inside the theatre to reach their seats. Though she hadn't fallen even once since the change and was an expert with crutches by now, it still took some getting used to. They weren't about to take any chances, not with her recent accident history.

Sakura smiled her thanks at him as he handed her the popcorn and sat down next to her. "If you really want to know the truth, we were talking about you."

"That much I could easily surmise," he replied drily. "Why was he all riled up like that?"

Sakura cringed slightly. "Did he really act on his threat of making you workout until you dropped?"

"He tried," Gaara remarked arrogantly, "but he didn't succeed. He sometimes forgets I'm used to some really harsh training, especially when he's worked up. The moron."

She chuckled at his haughty certainty in regards to his physical prowess. If this was how he viewed himself after being severely injured and recovering, Sakura quaked to think what he must have been like before.

"Well, let just say he was being the protective idiot he tends to be," she told him finally.

"Protective? Over what?" he asked, still perplexed at the blond's reaction. "Of you spending time with me? He ought to know you're safer with me than with anyone else, including him. I'm a trained specialist. My last performance during a crisis speaks for itself."

Sakura couldn't help but smile widely at his response. Trust the ex-military operative with no people skills to miss the point of Naruto's worry entirely.

"Yes it does," Sakura wholeheartedly agreed with his words. "I've never felt safer."

He grunted in affirmative response, turning towards the screen and the movie trailers they were currently showing.

Sakura looked at him out the corner of her eye and continued to grin. She wasn't planning on clarifying things for him just yet. If she told him what Naruto's stance was, he might react adversely. It was certain he would get angry at the blond for being an overprotective ass but when it came to her, Sakura wasn't sure what his reaction might be. Gaara might become self-conscious around her or might even try to avoid her altogether; this was the last thing she wanted. Since he was rather new at this whole interpersonal interaction deal, she wasn't about to take any chances. What she wanted the most was for him to enjoy himself and for things to flow naturally between them.

There was no point in going at anyone's pace but their own. That was something Naruto needed to get into his stubborn head. Still, it didn't mean Sakura couldn't have a little fun at her friend's expense. Like earlier that afternoon, she was bound to have quite a few laughs.

As the movie started, she let out a deep content sigh before sliding down slightly on her seat and leaning her head against Gaara's left shoulder. For her, it was a completely natural gesture and one that felt inexplicably right. He didn't seem to mind; as a matter of fact, as the movie progressed, he shifted slightly for her to lean against him more comfortably.

Later that night, once he had reached his apartment, Gaara admitted something rather surprising to himself. Since his devastating injury, his bad shoulder had never felt as good as it had tonight, with Sakura resting against it.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"I'll let you know I'm utterly against this," Tenten said. "It violates all the principles we strive to work for on a daily basis."

"So you've told me a thousand times," Naruto replied, rolling his eyes.

"Nothing good can come of this," she reiterated. Her hand unwillingly rose to pinch the bridge of her nose, a gesture she'd been repeating non-stop since the blond had walked into one of the back rooms to inform her of the proceedings.

"I'm not so sure of it either," Sakura confessed.

Admittedly, Lee had been driving Gaara up the wall more than usual these past few days; something about Lee insisting on them practicing some sort special celebration. Whenever Lee mentioned it, it made the redhead explode in a matter of milliseconds. Sakura had no idea what Lee was talking about or why Gaara reacted so violently yet the animosity emanating from the redhead was proving to be rather problematic. It if hadn't been for Neji's timely intervention, Gaara would have certainly throttled Lee in front of some of the other patients during one particularly nasty incident.

In an attempt to bring peace, Naruto had stepped in and proposed a rather Naruto-like solution to the hostilities.

Consequently, a couple of days later, Sakura found herself sitting on a plastic chair to one side of the big exercise room, looking rather sceptically at the men standing at its centre. An impromptu boxing ring had been set up on the mats, the strings having been enthusiastically acquired by Naruto. Sakura wondered just where the hell he'd gotten the setup as well as the equipment but had refrained from asking. She had other more pressing issues to worry about.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice.

"Perfectly sure," Naruto informed her cheerily. "You two really shouldn't fret so much. This is completely supervised fun. Besides, you've got to be kidding yourself if you think Gaara hasn't wanted to have a go at Lee since the first day he stepped in here."

Tenten sighed. "And you think it's wise to indulge him in that respect? You know his irritation has been riding him harder than usual these past few days."

Naruto's grin only widened. "Precisely! He'll get exactly what he wants and then he'll let it go."

"And his shoulder? It's the reason why he comes here in the first place, remember," Sakura told him pointedly.

He only waved his hand in dismissal. "His shoulder's the strongest it's ever been. I want to see how far he can push it. It won't be more than a few minutes though, so you can stop being such a pair of worrywarts." With that, he left the two women to approach the improvised ring.

Neji was standing to one side, tying up Lee's gloves. Naruto walked over to Gaara, who was already inside the ring. He examined the redhead's injured shoulder one last time before judging him good to go. He picked up Gaara's head protector from the floor and helped him strap it on. It was, naturally, afterhours. There were no other patients around to witness the last spectacle one would like to see at one's physiotherapy clinic. Sakura was extremely grateful for this since this latest idea of Naruto's could turn ugly pretty fast.

They were supposed to be a rehab clinic, for crying out loud! They weren't supposed to promote activities that sent people to physical therapy in the first place.

No matter what he did, either in the personal or professional arena, Naruto's penchant for chaos always reared its ugly head.

"Men, I'm afraid, are utterly incomprehensible creatures sometimes," Tenten remarked with a shake of her head. Her eyes bored into Neji's back; she couldn't believe her usually sensible boyfriend was enthusiastically contributing to this absurd scheme.

Sakura nodded, overwhelmed with incredulity. "I just hope Lee goes easy on him. He's a patient, after all."

"I was actually contemplating things the other way around," Tenten confessed apprehensively. "Hopefully Gaara won't go all out on him. I mean, the difference in their weight couldn't be more blatant."

And she was right. Lee was muscular but amazingly lean. It was evident the redhead had the advantage of muscular mass on his side.

"That means he'll be all the quicker," Sakura said. "He'll be able to dance around Gaara and throw in more punches."

"True," her friend replied. "But with his weight behind his offense, Gaara only needs to land a single punch to knock him out... especially when it comes to his right hook."

Sakura clearly remembered the way he had battered the wall the time he'd dropped Tenten's bag when his shoulder had given way. It seemed her friend was thinking about that incident too. The two of them turned towards each other, sharing an intense look of trepidation.

The two women groaned before facing back towards the enthusiastic men. This whole thing had the potential of turning into a complete fiasco, especially when one considered the opponents' opposite personalities. It was simply inevitable for Lee's enthusiasm to ignite the redhead's temper, especially when Gaara was running on such a short fuse. And if the ex-military operative truly lost it, all of them would have to make a run for the nearest exit.

But there was no stopping either of the combatants. Lee, calling upon the unlimited power of youth, jumped into the ring and raised his gloved fists at the redhead. Gaara just looked at him with an intense glare, as if he couldn't wait to pommel him to the ground. Naruto stepped into the ring to act as referee while Neji stood to the side, holding his cell phone as an impromptu bell.

When the bell ringtone chimed announcing the start of the fight, Tenten and Sakura groaned in unison and braced themselves for the worst.

In the end, it didn't turn out all that bad... or well, not as bad as it could've gone. Lee danced lithely around Gaara just like Sakura had predicted; he moved with grace and speed. But like Tenten had said, the redhead definitely did not hold back when it came to delivering his punches. His jabs connected rather forcefully with Lee's middle section, so much so that the enthusiastic man had to catch his breath before continuing a couple of times.

Naruto moved around with the two of them inside the ring, a wide grin on his face. It was rather obvious he was enjoying himself excessively. Nonetheless, before things got out of hand and before either of the two combatants showed any signs of fatigue, he called a stop to the match.

Though Gaara looked like he was about to overrule the referee's signal to halt and continue punishing Lee, he did step back and allowed himself to be led towards his corner. As he took off his head protector, Lee exclaimed in satisfaction, telling the redhead they could have a rematch whenever he wanted. Naruto perked up at the idea; maybe they could turn this improvised boxing match into a weekly event.

Tenten intervened right about then, stepping up and voicing her adverse opinion without holding anything back. Sakura cringed slightly as she delivered some particularly nasty remarks in regards to Naruto's dire lack of intelligence. They quickly fell into an argument, with Lee backing Naruto up and Neji trying to calm Tenten down.

As they bickered back and forth, Gaara slid himself underneath the ring cords and walked over to where Sakura was sitting.

"Feeling better?" she asked, a wry look in her emerald eyes.

He smirked deviously before replying. "Immensely. I could've gone on a lot longer if I'd been allowed. Had a few months of accumulated Lee-related frustration to let out." As he spoke, he stuck out his wrists at her so she could help him pull off his boxing gloves.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his comment but proceeded to help him take them off. "There are other ways of dealing with frustration other than battering someone else's head into a pulp."

He had to chuckle at that. "There might be but no other method could be even half as satisfying." He flexed his fingers when his hands were free of his gloves. "You should try it sometime."

It was her turn to smile. She had to admit that hitting Naruto with her crutches when he got particularly obtuse had always been greatly gratifying.

Gaara turned to look at the others who were still in the middle of a heated argument. It seemed Tenten was not going to back down no matter what. They could go on for hours if allowed. He shook his head wryly. "How about we cut a hasty retreat while the members of the idiot brigade proceed to tear each other to shreds?"

Sakura chuckled. "Excellent idea. But only on one condition."

"What's that?"

"We stop for some ice cream along the way."

His lips quirked up at her characteristic need for some kind of food. He readily agreed. "Let me get changed and we'll be off."

Sakura got up as inconspicuously as she could from her chair and started making her way to the front of the clinic. The redhead caught up to her a few minutes later. He still had the shorts he'd been wearing for his boxing match on but had changed his t-shirt and had thrown on a hooded navy blue jacket. His hair was wet after having quickly washed himself.

"Ready?" Sakura asked, the backpack holding her things already on her back.

"Lead the way," he replied.

Once again, the two of them slipped out of the clinic in each other's company, ready for another evening spent together. Gaara momentarily thought how easy it had been to get used to such jaunts and how welcome they now were, completely unaware that in that instant, Sakura was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

><p>Read and review, guys!<p> 


	9. Spiralling Shadows

**A/N:** So, here it is. Finally.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter IX –SPIRALLING SHADOWS<strong>

******~xxx~******

"It's not ice cream," Sakura said defensively, "it's frozen yogurt."

She turned her eyes towards Gaara, walking beside her, and who had just made a comment about them having indulged in ice cream a couple of nights before. From the tone of his voice it seemed he couldn't quite understand why she could be craving some again so soon.

Hence the need for explanation on her part. "They are two completely different things," she continued, "and besides, there can never be enough ice cream. EVER. Same principle applies to frozen yogurt."

The redhead just turned sceptical eyes towards her but refrained from commenting. Nonetheless, he couldn't help his lips from curving upwards slightly. There seemed to be no end to Sakura's random cravings for sweet things.

She didn't fail to perceive his silent amusement at her expense so she poked her tongue out at him.

They were walking across the park near the clinic, making their way towards a frozen yogurt shop located on the other side. It was a little after lunch, hence Sakura's need for dessert, and after promising to bring back treats for the whole of the Physiotherapy Brigade, the two of them had set off at a leisurely pace. The day was warm and sunny yet not stifling. The perfect weather to indulge in a cold treat while sitting outside on a park bench.

They were half way through their journey when, much to her surprise, Sakura found her crutch catching on an uneven slit in the pavement underneath.

Her world started to tilt as she unexpectedly lost her balance but Gaara was lightning-quick in his reaction. She had slipped forward less than an inch when his arms were already around her and holding her upright. Her crutch clanked on the ground as it fell from her grasp but Sakura was left safely standing in the circle of Gaara's arms. He was half lifting her, making sure she didn't put any weight on her injured leg.

"You alright?" he asked, his mouth close to her ear.

His voice cut through her stupefaction and made her blink since her confused senses had had no time to adjust to what had just happened. But when they finally caught up, she managed to register the thrilling sensation his unexpected proximity was provoking.

"Yes, thank you," she replied eventually but made no move to retrieve herself from his embrace. "I can't believe I just did that. Like if I were an amateur with crutches. What a klutz!"

He denied this statement with a negative grunt. "The pavement's uneven and cracked. It could've happened to anyone."

The feel of his breath and the vibration of his voice as he spoke on the sensitive skin of her ear was something she was not prepared for. Nor was the feel of his strong arm around her waist. The combined sensations made her feel giddy and of a sudden, she felt an inexplicable urge to giggle. Sakura trampled it down, though, refusing to come across like an idiot and wanting to prolong the exchange for as long as possible.

How long ago had it been since she'd felt her body react so intensely to the feel of a man?

Too long, it seemed.

To Sakura's surprise, Gaara didn't make any move to allow her to stand by herself either. He kept holding her to him. She had the suspicion he was enjoying the closeness as much as she was.

Sakura looked up at him then, her eyes meeting his. The jade in his orbs looked intense yet controlled, like if holding her close was something he could've easily done for the rest of the afternoon. Their faces were extremely close to each other and if she moved towards him just slightly and lifted her chin, she might just bring her lips into contact with his.

His eyes shifted slightly, like if he were also considering the possibility. His expression was curious, showing as much interest as she was likely doing. Sakura smiled encouragement and settled herself more comfortably within his hold. He looked amused at this and leaned his face downwards, much to the flickering excitement of her heart.

"By the incessant howling of the watchdogs of hell, he got himself a girl!" came a cry from the near vicinity. Though mocking in its tone, it did nothing to disguise the utter shock and disbelief at what it was witnessing.

Sakura jumped in Gaara's arms only to feel the muscles of his entire body harden like stone in response to the voice. She made to disentangle herself from his hold but he wouldn't allow it. His arms tightened vicelike around her as he lifted his face to address the man who had just spoken.

"What the hell are you doing here, Deidara?" he asked, a low threatening timbre in his tone that triggered goose bumps on Sakura's skin. Never had she witnessed such an intense and focused rage in Gaara before; his body was virtually vibrating with it. Even though she was not the one he was addressing, she felt herself react with intense alarm at his voice.

"Well, we just wanted to check up on you, that's all," the other man replied, astoundingly undisturbed by the explicit menace in Gaara's voice. "Of course, we didn't know we would be interrupting anything, un."

Who was this man?

Sakura attempted to turn around in the redhead's grip to try and get a look at the speaker. Though he squeezed her in warning and seemed not to want to allow it, he eventually relented and allowed her to partly turn.

What she saw surprised Sakura; the fearlessness in his voice was certainly at odds with the man's appearance. To start off he was sitting in a wheelchair, looking battered but recovering. His face was gaunt and his long blond hair tied up in a high ponytail looked lacklustre. Her medical eyes surveyed the cast that covered most of his stretched right leg; it was angled away from his body and was slightly elevated thanks to one of wheelchair's foot rests. It was evident his injury had implied more than one fracture along his leg. Sakura, dealing with a leg injury herself, commiserated and did not envy him the long months of rehabilitation that surely awaited him.

But despite his tattered exterior, Sakura found his blue eyes bright, shining with keen intelligence and sly cunning. In spite of herself, she took a mental step back and realized this man was deadly. Even though he looked like he had been run over by an eighteen wheeler, she was certain he was nowhere near helpless. His confidence shone in his eyes and it was manifested in the tone with which he had spoken to Gaara.

Deidara, as the redhead had called him, presented a great contrast to his companion though. There was another man with him, standing behind him and pushing the wheelchair. While the blond's eyes were clear and quick-thinking, the orbs of this other man were cloudy and hazy as he surveyed Gaara with a thoughtful look. He might look hail and whole, his red hair similar in tone to Gaara's and his body showing no signs of injury, but it was evident his mind wasn't entirely present.

As if reading her thoughts, he spoke.

"I know you from somewhere," he said, gesturing towards Gaara. "I do know you. Don't I, Deidara?"

The seated man blew out a long suffering sigh. "Yes, unfortunately you do. But I'm not going to tell you who he is because I did so this morning when I explained what we coming here to do. So I'm not going to waste my breath since you'll just forget him in the near future."

The other man frowned down at him and seemed to be about to utter a complaint. But then he cocked his head curiously to the side, as if his attention had been caught by something only he could see.

"I apologize for my companion's state, little lady," Deidara remarked, addressing Sakura. "In many ways I think I ended up in better shape than he did, un."

Gaara growled, his arms flexing defensively around Sakura and clearly displeased at having the blond address her in any way. "What do you want, Deidara? I told you to stay the hell out of my life!"

Deidara chuckled. "Yes, you were rather vehement about it too when you hung up on me the last time we spoke. Unluckily for all of us, that's not an option anymore... unless you want to end up as dinner for the hound dogs that will soon be circling around these parts."

Sakura tensed at this and Gaara cursed at her reaction. She shouldn't be hearing any of this. To his frustration, she was gripping his t-shirt in apprehension, seemingly unaware of what she was doing and although she had no idea of what Deidara was referring to.

"I did warn you," the blond continued. "Staying at the military hospital, unfortunately, was something the two of us had to rule out entirely. Too dangerous; there's too many ears listening in. So we bailed out."

"And you just decided it'd be fun to annoy me by making an appearance?" the redhead bit back furiously.

"Well, I would have called," Deidara conceded, "but I'm afraid that wouldn't have made as much of an impact. Besides, I'd be kidding myself if I didn't admit I wasn't curious as to what the hell you've been doing with your life. And well, to my complete surprise, it seems you truly have been busy," his eyes looked Sakura up and down appreciatively as he finished speaking.

"What I do is no concern of yours," Gaara snapped, his voice dripping fury. His anger was rising by the second and if he didn't control it, he knew he would end up making a lunge for the injured man. Doing so would only lead to a dire situation since it would be two against one. Deidara was anything but feeble despite the wheelchair and Sasori, as Gaara knew very well, would without a doubt jump in to defend him like he'd always done. If he'd been by himself, Gaara would have taken the risk. With Sakura with him, however, initiating an attack would be the stupidest thing he could do.

Deidara seemed to be following his train of thought for he smiled deviously. "C'mon Rookie, you know it won't hurt to listen to what I have to say. As a matter of fact, you might find it real useful."

Gaara let out a deep breath, bringing his raging emotions under control.

With an inward curse, he realized cutting all ties with his past wouldn't be as easy a feat as he'd initially thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura sat on a park bench, trying to get her fluttering nerves to settle.

Some distance away and sitting at another bench, Gaara was speaking to the two men who had waylaid them some time before. They seemed to be involved in casual discussion; they avoided calling the attention of any of the passersby making their way through the park. Though Deidara's condition inevitably made some heads turn, they otherwise evaded any other kind of unwanted notice. They seemed to be a trio of friends who had casually met in the park and were involved in mundane conversation.

Sakura knew they were anything but and what they were discussing was anything but mundane.

From the way Gaara had reacted and the fury thrumming through his body as he held her, she had been aware he was not, in any way, on friendly terms with the two men. The conclusion was evident: Gaara had no desire to associate with them. He'd been given little choice on the matter, though. From the hints Deidara had dropped, it didn't take a genius to guess who they were. Sakura was aware the blond man had made certain remarks for her benefit so she could piece the puzzle together herself; of course, to what twisted purpose she didn't know. The cunning look in his eyes had been impossible to decipher. Intentions aside, it hadn't been overly difficult to guess their identity.

These men were members of Gaara's former platoon; a section of the military that had not officially existed and that recruited some of the most dangerous men in existence. That was as much as Gaara had told her or any of the other members of the clinic, though Sakura was certain it implied many other things he was unwilling to talk about. Not that she blamed him; naturally not. If there was anyone who understood what it was like to have no desire of speaking about tragic events of the past, it was her. It didn't mean she didn't trust him either. She blatantly admitted to herself that he had become, effortlessly it seemed, someone she could blindly rely on. Because their situation was unique due to their shared physical impairments, the relationship they had been building between them since she'd arrived in Konoha was made of sturdy stuff. Furthermore, Sakura never questioned Gaara's desire to rid himself of his past and to start a new life. It was the reason why he was here in the first place, visiting the clinic on virtually a daily basis. The redhead was intent in starting anew; he had told her so himself.

The problem was his past seemed not as determined to be rid of him.

The implicit peril in Deidara's words hadn't been lost on her. It was clear there was something going on that involved Gaara. He was implicated in some of the current activities of his former platoon. What the situation might be, Sakura had no clue. But from what Deidara had been hinting at, it was evident he was standing in the direct line of incoming danger. And Sakura would be damned if anything was allowed to hurt him ever again.

Surprised at the intensity of her emotional reaction, she fisted her hands in her lap and gritted her teeth. Sakura knew very well what it was like to be placed in a vulnerable situation not of your own making; for your life to be placed at risk because of someone else's actions. It was not a position she wished on anyone, especially not when it came to a person she had come to care for deeply.

Her feelings for Gaara had done nothing but delve deeper into her heart as the days passed. She was the first one to admit it. Unsuspectingly, he had turned into the second chance at life Sakura had thought would never be hers. He had caught her completely unawares and had insinuated himself into her life without her realizing it. As a result, he had become an intrinsic part of her every day existence and she would allow nothing, especially not the psychotic ex-members of his former platoon, to take him away from her.

Sakura had already sacrificed enough; she had already been forced to give up enough things in life. She would not allow this new opportunity she had been given to be tainted by loss. Not now, not ever.

Sakura made the decision then, it being all the more poignant because of its effortlessness: she wanted Gaara and she was going to keep him.

Though she had no idea of how she would go about this, she was absolutely certain in her stance. If it turned out that he would have to leave the city and look for refuge somewhere else, she would go with him. As a matter of fact, she'd help arrange it all. If it meant he had to look for the custody of the authorities, she would be by his side. She didn't care what it was she needed to do, she would do it without any complaints. But she would not, not even under the threat of death, be parted from his side. He had already faced enough hardships and anguishes by himself his whole life. It was about time he had someone with him watching his back, someone who truly cared for him and who wanted nothing else but his genuine wellbeing.

Sakura would stand by her man... though he wasn't exactly _hers_ yet.

She had to work on that part still. But for her the answer was foreseeable; it wasn't a matter of 'if' but of 'when'. Sakura was certain of that. He might not know it yet but he would catch up. She would make certain he did. And from the way he had almost kissed her before they were rudely interrupted, it seemed he was well on his way to reaching the same conclusion.

So yes, she would fight tooth and nail for what she wanted. This time around she would not be denied. Life owed her this much; after everything that had happened and everything she had been forced to relinquish, she would not accept any other outcome.

Resolute in her conviction, Sakura felt her herself settle. Breathing in deeply, she stole a surreptitious glance towards where the three men were talking, her gaze briefly focusing on Gaara. His face looked taut still but it seemed he had managed to get his anger under control; which was a very good thing. After having witnessed one of his temper outbursts firsthand, she dreaded to think what he might do when seriously riled. Especially when it came to the members of the platoon he hated so much.

Besides, it was essential for him to keep a level head. There was a lurking menace in the wings and to do something about it, he would have to keep his wits about him. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, it seemed he had realized this too. Unwilling, Sakura felt a strong emotion surging in her chest, equals parts pride at him handling the situation so well and equal parts sorrow at knowing he had learned to do so because he'd been exposed to such dangers during most of his adult life.

She lowered her eyes to look once more at her fisted hands and let out the breath she'd been holding. Preparing herself for the worst wasn't going to be easy. With the atrocities he'd undoubtedly lived through and the lifestyle he had led until relatively recently, whatever threat came Gaara's way was sure to be dire. She had to be prepared to deal with anything, to steel herself against all possibilities.

Because no matter what the world decided to throw at them, there was no other option but to stand and defend.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"They're dead, then," Gaara affirmed in a deadpan voice.

"Not dead, Rookie, just missing," Deidara added sarcastically.

The redhead levelled a death glare his way but refrained from commenting further.

After asking Sakura to sit on a nearby bench, out of earshot but within sight, his formidable temper had been easier to reel in. Now that she was out of the reach of the two maniacs currently in his company, Gaara could pull back his wrath enough to concentrate on what Deidara was saying. It seemed he was going to need every ounce of his concentration to deal with this unexpected visit, because just like before, he knew very well his ex-comrade in arms would not have made contact with him if there wasn't a very good reason to do so.

Unwillingly, Gaara felt apprehension creep up his spine. But he mercilessly trampled it down; this was just another obstacle he would have to either bypass or destroy.

"It is possible that the hospital network just misplaced their medical files and lost record of where it was they were being transferred," the blond man continue, a smirk on his lips. There was a certain quality of the macabre in his mirth.

Gaara scoffed. "Stop wasting time with your stupidity," he said, his voice dripping scorn, "how long ago was this?"

"The last hospital record I was able to find of Kakuzu was just over a week ago," Deidara said. "A couple of days before that I managed to find traces of Zabuza but they weren't overly detailed."

"I thought you said it was impossible to find any information on them due to the hospital network being manipulated by Konan," Gaara remarked.

Deidara's smirk turned devious. "It was impossible, at least for me. You know I never was inclined towards technology. I'm more attuned to the art of explosive destruction. It's much more satisfying."

Jade eyes glared for him to get to the point.

Deidara's silent amusement only increased at Gaara's attempt at intimation. Yet he continued speaking, "A lieutenant from intelligence was brought up to a room on the other end of the floor. The poor bastard has stage four pancreatic cancer and not very long to live. Hence, he was in desperate need for some reckless adventure."

"He agreed to hack into the hospital computer just to get a kick out of his miserable life?" Gaara asked in disdain.

"No, of course not," Deidara replied with a laugh. "I got him to hack the system after arranging for him to have a tumble between the sheets with one of the nurses. He was more than happy to comply after that. Being the worst kind of geek, I doubt he'd ever gotten laid in his life, un."

The redhead shook his head with contempt.

"The intel was difficult to trace even for him, though," Deidara continued, "not that I was expecting anything less from Konan. But we did manage to get some information in the end, mainly that there were some members of Phantasma who were still alive and kicking... or well, they were still breathing at the time we found the information."

"Did you attempt to make any contact with them?" Gaara asked.

"We were coming up with an encrypted system that might pass under Konan's radar when we abruptly lost access to their info. In all honesty, I thought it was better to do it the traditional way and send someone over. I could've easily bribed someone into doing it. But then again, a member of Phantasma receiving an unexpected visit from a long lost relative would've sent alarms ringing all over, un."

Gaara inwardly scoffed at the sheer stupidity of Deidara's idea. Ignoring it was the best he could do. "So it was then you decided to bail?"

"There was no going around it," he replied. "Once their records were suddenly obliterated, it was evident the commander had caught up with them. It didn't take a genius to guess who would be next. We staged a patient transfer three nights ago, with Sasori playing the role of ambulance driver. It was easy enough when we had all the right falsified papers and the nurses had done their last rounds."

Gaara blinked at the thought of Sasori driving around the city in a stolen ambulance. "Did he even remember how to drive?" he asked, incredulous.

The two of them turned to look at the other man, who was sitting next to Gaara on the bench, a blank look on his face.

Deidara chuckled. "He actually did, amazingly. It seems driving is one of the things that, once learned, you remember for the rest of your life... regardless of an entire building falling on top of your head."

"I'm assuming you covered your tracks," Gaara added.

"I ought to cut your balls off for saying that," Deidara bit back, his eyes narrowing menacingly. "Who do you think we are, amateurs? Fuck you, Rookie. Now you're making me regret modifying all of your records at the hospital along with ours."

Jade eyes blinked. "You did what?"

Deidara's smirk returned. "I just thought I'd be a thorn up Pein's ass by making it more difficult for him to find any of us."

Gaara ground his teeth. "Only now he's going to think we're working together, you damned idiot," he snapped viciously.

"Which isn't exactly a lie," Deidara retorted. "What do you think us being here entails? That we traded information is something Pein will deduce anyway, especially since he knows you've been living it up in Konoha during all this time."

A haze of intense rage clouded Gaara's vision for a moment. To think his ex-commander was intent on robbing him of everything he'd been able to achieve since he'd left the accursed military was something that made his inner monster stir. Like before, the redhead came to an inevitable conclusion: he was going to take Pein's life. No matter what happened, it was the only possible outcome out of this situation.

Fighting back the wrath, he looked again towards Deidara, only to find unexpected understanding in his blue eyes.

"You know that you escaping might just make things even worse," Gaara remarked after he'd managed to calm down somewhat. "From Pein's perspective, it's got guilt written all over it, especially since you were the one holding the detonator."

Deidara shrugged. "In his view I'm guilty no matter what. I'd much rather fight in a battlefield of my own choosing than wait for him to show up like a caged rat."

Despite his intense aggravation towards his ex-comrades' presence, Gaara couldn't agree more with that statement.

No matter where they stood in regards to one another, the ultimate result of this whole scenario was rather evident: they would have to fight for their lives with everything they had.

Deidara continued to relay the latest information he'd obtained in regards to Pein's movements. Their ex-commander seemed to be concentrating on their other comrades for the time being but that only meant he would be coming their way in the near future. Neither of them doubted that in the slightest. The problem was determining _when_; yet it was impossible for them to know that, not with the way Pein's right hand, the formidable Konan, had manipulated the information surrounding Phantasma's commander. And especially not now that Deidara no longer has access to the military's intel through the hospital's computer.

"I'll just have to improvise with my information gathering," the blond finally said. "I might not be able to figure out much but at least anything is better than nothing."

"Whatever you find out, keep it to yourself," Gaara remarked bitingly. "The last thing I need is for you to show up again,"

"You are so callous, Rookie," Deidara replied, placing his hand over his heart in a mocking gesture. "I'd be tempted to think you didn't want to see us."

Gaara levelled him with a lethal glare that had been known to shrivel other men. It had no outward effect on Deidara.

"Besides," he continued to say, "we aren't risking anything Pein doesn't already know. So there was no reason not to pay you a social visit. It was quite worth it, in fact. Especially considering that luscious piece of pink cotton-candy you've got in your clutches." His eyes swivelled towards where Sakura was sitting some distance away.

"Who I'm with has nothing to do with you," Gaara hissed furiously.

Deidara ignored him. "Tell me something, though," he added, the levity in his voice abruptly gone. "Does the poor girl know who and what you are?"

The simmering anger Gaara had been keeping in check just underneath the surface burst at such an impertinent query. He opened his mouth to unleash his wrath on Deidara but the man wasn't finished.

He turned to look at him fully, his sudden seriousness at odds with the mirthful disdain with which he usually faced life. "And if she does, is she really willing to accept you for it?"

The question, especially when coming from the man who asked it, was enough to make Gaara stop dead in his tracks. It was enough for him to reel back his anger and shift his focus; the ground he was walking had suddenly turned tricky. Such an approach from Deidara was the last thing he had expected. It shook him enough to perceive an uncharacteristic glint in the other man's eyes, something that had been there all along but that Gaara, due to the anger their appearance had triggered, had not noticed. There was a subtle change in Deidara's expression, a demeanour that had not been there before. He hid it well underneath the veneer of his jovial scorn towards the world. Only someone who had walked down the same paths of shadow and death would be able to spot such a change.

Without thinking, Gaara turned to look at Sasori, expecting to see a difference there too but his blank eyes told him nothing. Yet he knew there was more going on than what appearance told.

Gaara faced forwards again, letting out a deep breath. The world had abruptly shifted and he wasn't sure where he was standing anymore. For the first time since the start of their encounter, he took time to think things through before he answered Deidara. The implications of what he was asking were not lost upon him. They echoed silently around them, invisible yet heavy with the weight of the entire world.

Deidara, jaded and disturbed soul that he was, was asking Gaara, someone who had stepped out of the darkness, if such a miraculous feat was actually possible.

If it really was true that someone out there in the ruthless world all of them had been taught to fight against could actually come to accept a monster. After all they had experienced, the blood, the violence, the mindless destruction, was it true that someone out there might be willing to overlook all that and offer them genuine acceptance.

Turning his jade eyes towards Sasori once more, Gaara noticed the amnesiac-ridden man had turned to look at Sakura with a strange expression in his own eyes.

In that moment, the realization hit Gaara with full force: after all they had done, was redemption truly a possibility for men like them?

In all honesty, Gaara didn't know the answer. But he finally replied with his own version of the truth.

"Yes, she does," he said, his voice resolute. "She might not know all the details but she knows the gist of it. And yes, she is willing to be with me despite all that."

Funny how he had never really doubted it; how he had always known, deep inside, that Sakura's acceptance was all-encompassing. Saying the words out loud had an effect he wasn't expecting, though. They allowed the something in his chest that had been shifting since he'd arrived in this city to find the right nook in which to reside permanently. It budged one last time and settled into place for good.

He watched Deidara's eyes widen in surprise at his honest words and at his unwavering tone before they turned their gaze once more towards Sakura. He looked thoughtful for a few pregnant moments, no doubt considering his own possibilities. As Gaara surveyed him, he remembered the words Deidara had said when they had met at the military hospital and how the other man had been keen on pointing out Gaara's newfound humanity.

It was only now, thanks to this newly attained perspective, that Gaara apprehended the motives for Deidara's actions; the reasons why he had decided to come see him personally to warn him of the impending danger.

Gaara didn't know if Deidara would be able to find the answers he was searching for. But from where he was standing, after all he had been able to discover in the past months, Gaara genuinely wished him luck.

Somehow, the irritation he had felt at having his ex-comrades drop on his head completely out of the blue dissipated. He suddenly _understood_, something he had never been able to do before in regards to his former platoon companions. They had been too tainted, too immersed in the bloody chaos of their existence to be able to see anything, not even themselves, clearly.

Without wanting to, Gaara wondered how things might have worked out if they had met under any other circumstances. If life hadn't turned all of them into ruthless killing monstrosities, where would they have been now?

It was a useless thought, he knew, yet it popped into his head before he could stop it. It was too late to wonder about that now, though. The roulette of their fate had spun a long time ago.

Rising, he turned towards the two of them and uttered words he thought he would never say.

"Thank you. For the warning and the intel. Although I don't know how useful it might prove."

Deidara turned his face up to look at him and instead of replying with one of his usual quips, he nodded soberly. "I know you don't deserve it, none of us do, but fuck it, it was the least I could do. I hated all your guts through the long years but I'll be damned if I let any of us go down without a fair fight, un. Not after all we did for the bastard who is now intent on hunting us down. We would have died for him willingly... some of us actually did. If he thinks we'll be caught unawares, he's got another thing coming to him, un."

Gaara nodded. "Agreed. But believe me, he knows we know. He'll be counting on it. He didn't train us himself to be the best operatives the military has ever seen for nothing."

"But now it's our turn to teach him just how well we learned his lessons," Sasori added, quite unexpectedly.

The two of them turned to look at him in surprise, only to find his brown eyes startlingly clear. He returned their gazes intently, in full command of his capacities and evidently tuned in to the last bit of their conversation. His expression made Gaara abruptly remember just how deadly the stoic man sitting on the bench really was. He blinked as Deidara snorted in response to his words.

"Nice moment you choose to become useful again," he bit out annoyingly with a roll of his eyes, "right when we don't need you."

Sasori turned to look at him haughtily; his mannerisms and expression just like Gaara recalled them to be. It was uncanny to watch his old self emerge out of the blue from the blank where he'd been residing. He opened his mouth to rebuke Deidara but before he could say anything, the clouded look covered his eyes once again. With a perplexed expression completely at odds with his demeanour just a second before, he was left with no understanding of what was going on around him.

Deidara sighed.

"He really is screwed up, isn't he?" Gaara remarked.

"Correction, Rookie, he was already screwed up before this happened," he replied cynically. "I know I took a big risk by taking him out of the hospital but it was inevitable. We couldn't stay there any longer despite him needing medical attention. Sadly, in my condition, his presence was essential for my escape, un. Still, it wasn't as if the doctors were doing anything truly useful for him. They said only time would tell if he would get any better."

Gaara nodded as an idea occurred to him. It might have seemed ludicrous before but given the circumstances, nothing seemed as absurd as it might have looked a while back.

Besides, like Deidara had said, it was all about it being a fair fight.

"Do you have his medical records?" he asked.

"Yeah, un," Deidara replied, "stole them all in a flash drive I knicked from the laptop of an unsuspecting intern."

"Leave it somewhere so I can pick it up. As it turns out, the woman I'm with happens to be an experienced doctor specialized in medical research," Gaara admitted with a wry expression.

It was Deidara's turn to blink. "Wow, who would've thought," he conceded in disbelief, "you going for a girl with brains? If my memory serves me right you had a preference for rather dumb ones who didn't mind you having your way with them behind the-"

"Do you agree to leave the records or not?" Gaara interrupted nastily, cutting off his impudent little speech.

Deidara threw a grin of unholy amusement his way but refrained from further comments in that respect. "Yes, I will," he replied. "I'm sure Sasori will give you his thanks once he remembers who you are."

"I'm not sure if I'd welcome that," Gaara remarked as he moved to walk away. "He might just pull a knife on me once his memory returns. I wouldn't blame him for it either."

Deidara had to laugh at that. It was, after all, the truth.

Gaara turned to make his way towards the bench where Sakura was sitting.

"See you around, Rookie," Deidara called out in farewell.

"Don't count on it," Gaara replied without turning back.

After he saw him collect Sakura and walked away in her company, Deidara remained sitting in his wheelchair in the same spot for a while. His blue eyes turned thoughtful as he stared in the direction Gaara had gone.

Sasori, who had always been a stoic man of few words, hadn't changed much in that respect despite his head injury. He was still prone to long lapses of silence. In contrast to the talkative and showy Deidara, he'd always been a man who preferred actions to speak for him.

For once, Deidara was glad for the quiet.

Consequently, the two of them sat without saying anything as they watched people walk by; passersby immersed in their own particular bubble of life. They were blissfully unaware of the two lethal men sitting quietly in their midst and of any conflicts they might be waging within.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

"Gaara, I-" Sakura attempted to breach the subject for the tenth time.

But just like before, he would have none of it.

"There is nothing I have to say," was the now predictable interruption. "None of this concerns you or anyone else."

"But I-"

"No buts," he remarked firmly. "The less you know, the better. As a matter of fact, you never should've witnessed what just happened. Just forget about everything you saw."

"Forget?" she exclaimed, irritation rising at his demeanour. "How can I forget any of it when it's clear you're in dang-"

"I told you to _forget_ about it," Gaara interrupted callously again, his words a hiss. He spoke between clenched teeth, his patience clearly running thin.

They had almost arrived at the door of the clinic, their frozen yogurt expedition completely forgotten. Gaara had steered Sakura back the way they had come; the certainty of her safety while in his company had been completely shattered. It wouldn't do for her to be placed in unnecessary danger. Therefore, it was best if they separated.

Before they reached the door, he grabbed Sakura by the arm and forced her to stop.

"Do _not_ even think about mentioning any of this to Naruto or the rest," he told her, the tone in his voice absolute. "If any of you butt your heads into this matter, it's your life you will be forfeiting."

Sakura couldn't help swallowing at the seriousness of his tone and at the real threat it implied.

"You have no idea of the world I come from, of the things I've seen and am capable of doing," he continued. "And I prefer for you to never find out."

As he spoke, he leaned his face towards her. His jade eyes were bright with convoluted emotions Sakura could not name. His gaze swept her face, as if committing it to memory, before settling on her lips. He seemed to consider the moment that had been lost just before his ex-comrades had interrupted them but then a dispassionate look overcame his features.

It was an expression that did not sit well with Sakura. It made him look distant and unreachable.

"Tell Naruto I had somewhere to go," Gaara said, releasing her arm. "I'll call to see when we can re-arrange for another session."

And with such an offhand farewell, he left, walking hurriedly down the street before disappearing around the corner.

Blinking, Sakura stared at his receding back, an empty feeling of foreboding growing in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

><p>Your comments are always greatly appreciated!<p> 


	10. Courage to Proceed

**Chapter X – COURAGE TO PROCEED**

********~xxx~********

Anger, as in many instances in his life, was proving to be his saviour.

Gaara held on to it, cloaking himself in ire until he became one with it. Yet this was not the mind-fumbling rage that was wont to overwhelm him whenever he lost his temper. No, this was very different. It was an altered version of the hot anger that tended to burst out of him like a volcanic eruption.

This time around, the rage had turned cold.

His mind was in perfect working order. The fury was not clouding his thinking. On the contrary, it made his mental objectives all the clearer and allowed him to make decisions with irrefutable determination that would lead him with towards his goal.

The process of slipping back into his military mind-frame had been effortless. He'd wrapped himself in the mantle of his previous life willingly. The emotionless thinking process with which he'd survived for the entirety of his adult life would now prove to be his ally once again. This was all that mattered. The experience of those long years in Phantasma would finally pay off and be worth all the many sacrifices he had made along the way.

Things were different this time; very different. As he had realized some days back, he was fighting for something this time around. And such a stance would now prove decisive.

He had Sakura to thank for this realization. It had been her friendship and her proximity that had allowed him to look at his life with new eyes. It had been her acceptance as well as her genuine enjoyment of his company that had pushed Gaara that last inch into the niche where he unconsciously desired to be.

No matter how much resistance he worked up or how many excuses he invented, the truth was that after years of being cast adrift, he now had a place where he belonged.

And he would fight with everything he had to preserve it.

Somehow, the winding paths of his stubborn resilience had led him to this place and time. He had walked persistently without ever backing down and without shirking the effort that his injured arm had demanded. He had given it his all and by doing so, Gaara had surprisingly arrived to a place he had never really thought existed. Now, his was a life where people genuinely smiled whenever he arrived, where people included him in their activities not because they were afraid of him but because they desired his company. It was a marvel, really, to have the chance to be himself and be truly appreciated for it. To open his mouth and say whatever was on his mind without there being any kind of long-lasting negative repercussions.

To go about life without the need to conceal the jaded aspects of himself and in return, receive the warmth of smiling emerald eyes.

And that was the crux of the matter. He would do anything, sacrifice it all without second thought, in order to preserve the light in those beautiful eyes.

The admission, once made, was easy to accept. Sakura was the doorway, the entrance through which he might find that second chance at life he was being given. She held the world in her hands and she was offering it to him, no strings attached. There was no hidden agenda where she was concerned. She offered him solace, comfort and friendship without any guile; despite the many difficult experiences she had lived and the emotional distress she was herself overcoming, she was willing to share her heart.

It made Gaara stop for a moment, the realization that someone could be so selfless. It rekindled a long-ago discarded hope in him: the knowledge that there were genuinely good people out there in the world. For Gaara, after spending all those long years as a member of the brutal Phantasma, such a notion had been relegated to the category of myth. Pointless destruction, devastation and death had always taken centre stage, eclipsing the possibility of there being any positive aspects to life.

His reality, after stepping into the Kyuubi Clinic, had been abruptly inversed. He was still coming to terms with the way his life had turned topsy-turvy; with the way all the premises with which he'd previously faced life were refuted. In a relatively short period of time, Gaara had been able to experience first-hand the good he'd been certain didn't exist in the world. And Sakura had been the trigger; the spark that made him wonder what things might be like if he took a step in that never-before-contemplated direction. What things might be possible for him if he allowed himself the chance to seize all that was being offered to him?

There was no point in denying how much he wanted it all. Self-delusion had never sat well with him. He might have forced himself to adhere to the harsh reality of his present during his long years in the military, honestly believing there was no alternative; at least not for someone like him. But now, things were different. He'd been able to glimpse an alternate reality where the things his soul unconsciously craved for were his for the taking. Only a fool would fail to admit he desired such a possibility.

It was a difficult position to be in, though. If he wished to truly embrace the humanity he'd been courting, he would have to renounce certain aspects of himself once and for all. To be able to step forward meant Gaara would have to reject and discard everything he'd once been; to admit that the basic principles with which he'd lived his life up to this point were now useless. There was no place for them in his world anymore. All he'd ever believed in, all he'd ever thought was true during his time in Phantasma was null. His old persona needed to be discarded categorically, like a useless shell, for him to move forward. As he'd been experiencing for some time now, it was not a shift easily made.

Deidara, he knew, was struggling with such a conundrum. It was one of the realizations Gaara had come to during their previous conversation. His ex-comrade, after being confined to a wheelchair, was being forced to consider the possibility of a life outside Phantasma. Being someone who had dedicated his life solely to the errant platoon, Gaara empathized with such a challenge. None of them had ever truly thought there was anything for them outside their brigade; Phantasma defined their existence. They all believed, without a sliver of a doubt, death would catch up with them during some mission or other. It was the only possible end for men like them. That some of them had been able to survive as long as they had was a testament to their skill; yet they were very much aware of the reality of their chosen profession. None of them would be able to escape the reaper when he came calling. As such, Deidara's position would certainly not be a comfortable one. If the time came, Gaara wasn't sure the bombs' specialist would be able to make the transition. He'd much rather go out with a bang.

To be able to begin anew, to genuinely start from scratch, a special kind of motivation was required. An incentive to push you forward, to force your eyes open even though you did not want to see, was essential. Where Deidara might ever find this, Gaara did not know. In his personal situation, fortunately, such inducements had generally come in the form of the so-called Physiotherapy Brigade and specifically, in the shape of a cherry haired doctor recovering from a knee injury.

They provided the momentum with which Gaara was now propelling forward.

Although the path was clear before him, he couldn't walk through the gateway just yet. There were things he still needed to take care of. His military persona could not be discarded so soon. Because his past was not done with him, his old self was still needed to face it. It was the only way to put it behind him once and for all.

So Gaara let the anger rise and his mind-frame shift, resuming old habits like a cloak. If he was to face Pein and emerge victorious, he would have to be at his very best; he would have to call forth all the skills he'd garnered across the years to be able to protect what had now become so precious to him. There was, in effect, no room for softness. Only unfeeling logic and strategy could have a place in his world at the moment. To be able to stand and defend, Gaara could not allow himself to bend. If he did, Pein would see that as a weakness and would have no qualms in exploiting it.

Gaara willed Sakura to understand this.

The realization of his vulnerability had been made painfully clear when he'd been ambushed by Deidara and Sasori in the park. Fortune had been good to him in that it had been them who had crossed his path; though they were ungracious members of his former platoon, they hadn't harboured any ill intent towards him. However, what if it had been Pein who had intercepted him in the park? With Sakura so evidently in his arms, what would Gaara have done then?

Fear was never a comfortable emotion yet it was necessary to acknowledge so one could learn from it. The chill of apprehension that had travelled up his spine after considering such a scenario left Gaara with no option: never again would he endanger Sakura's life in such a way. Making such amateur mistakes was something he simply could not afford. As such he would force himself to embrace the implied paradox that if he wanted to keep Sakura safe, he would have to keep her at a distance.

It wouldn't be easy, he knew. To alienate the one person he wanted to protect the most would have tried a weaker man's sanity. But Gaara had no use for weakness. Risking Sakura was not an option. He would do what he needed to do.

And when all was set and done, Gaara hoped Sakura would comprehend.

In the interim, he had an enemy to take down and nothing, not even the possibility of her hurt feelings, would come between him and his objective.

When the time came, Gaara would just have to make it up to her.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

As the days progressed, the apprehension just kept growing and growing, overwhelming Sakura with an anxiety she was finding very hard to keep hidden.

This was especially so when Gaara ceased to show up at the clinic at the same time she did. From one moment to the next, he arranged for his rehabilitation sessions to take place at differing times and would come in whenever she wasn't present. She had no idea how he managed this so effectively; then again, she knew her physiotherapist friends would find nothing strange with him asking about her schedule.

After a couple of days of having him avoid her, Sakura decided to arrive early at the clinic and stay there all day until he showed up. It only resulted in him calling to arrange for an outdoor session with Naruto.

Sakura was at the end of her tether.

To be fair, she'd made the decision of not to telling her friends about the incident at the park; she had decided to respect Gaara's desire for privacy for the time being. More importantly, she preferred to have more information about what was happening before gathering her friends and explaining the situation. At the moment, she ruefully admitted, she didn't have much of a situation to actually explain. She couldn't very well go in there, raising alarms only because a couple of Gaara's ex-comrades had showed up and he had been visibly upset.

Of course he was going to be upset!

The problem was explaining the god-awful feeling of dread that had sunk its claws into her and refused to let go. Though she had only been privy to the few words Deidara had exchanged with Gaara in her presence, something inside her had recognized the warning signs of real approaching danger. Gaara himself had virtually confirmed it for her with his words, telling her she had no idea of what the world he came from was like.

Well, if this applied to her then it applied to him too: he had no idea of where she came from either. Being the ex-girlfriend of a crazed underworld ruffian with a personal vendetta towards his brother had taught her many things about those who existed on society's fringes. It might not be the highly organized and disciplined atmosphere of a secret military unit but it was certainly the same kind of mindless bloodshed and ruthlessness.

Thanks to Sasuke's unintended education, Sakura could easily perceive the rank smell of wrongness in a situation of this nature. And Gaara's ex-comrades had brought with them the worst kind of scent along with them.

This was why she needed to know what was happening as soon as possible. Staying in the dark and accepting Gaara's ruling that she remain on the sidelines was not an option. It was going to be tough going but she would weasel it out of him one way or another. Sakura understood why he would be reticent in sharing any details relating to his past, especially those that brought with them menacing tidings. But she would get to the bottom of this no matter the circumstance. Sakura refused to be left in the dark.

She might not be able to go into battle, guns blazing, along with him; she was painfully of her handicaps, and not just because of her knee. Yet this was not a valuable excuse in her mind. The promise she had made to herself to stand next to him still echoed resolutely within her. There were many ways to support someone that didn't imply throwing yourself directly into the line of fire. Although, if it came to that, Sakura was sure enough of where she was standing to know she would jump in front of a gun for him. Still, she didn't know if this is what was required. As things stood, Sakura had no clue of what the issue really was. And that was the root of the issue, the not knowing; the being pushed aside with no regard to her feelings.

It brought the silhouette of past spectres to the fore.

It was a situation that only reinforced her stance. Gaara might have decided to deny her any kind of involvement but this didn't mean Sakura's feelings would falter. As a matter of fact, they would not budge at all. She'd made her decision and she would stick to it just like she would stick with him through thick and thin. He would just have to come to terms with that.

Thus, Sakura had been resolutely waiting for the right moment to show up so she could corner him. At one point she had considered turning up at his apartment unannounced but she had ruled this option out. It was unlikely for Gaara to be there during the day, especially not when he knew there was a menace coming to get him. Deidara had mentioned something about hound dogs circling closer; this meant someone was actively hunting Gaara and most likely his ex-platoon companions as well. With all this churning in her mind, Sakura attempted to keep her cool and tried to have patience. Gaara, after all, had never had someone showing concern over him or someone genuinely worried over his wellbeing. He didn't know what it was like to have someone willing to risk their lives to protect him; someone who would give anything to keep him out of harm's way.

Because of this, Sakura had made her best attempts to be understanding and give him time.

Until the package arrived.

It was delivered at her hotel early in the day. One of the bellboys had gone up to her room and handed her a small manila envelope, saying it had been delivered last night with instructions for it to be handed to her the next morning.

After he left, Sakura tentatively opened the package, only to find a flash drive and a quickly scribbled note inside.

_Have a look at the medical files in the drive. Let me know what the diagnosis is and whether something can be done about it. Leave your answer in the same envelope at the hotel lobby._

_Gaara_

She had no idea of what to think. A flurry of conflicted emotions flitted through her, leaving her head reeling in bewilderment.

Astonishment was her foremost reaction when she opened her laptop and inserted the flash drive. Her medical training took over instinctively as she browsed through the medical records and test results of a man who had suffered from severe cranial traumas. Even without the military logo glaring at her whenever she opened a document, the source of the man's injuries was telling enough: he had been caught in the explosion of a building during a mission and had sustained skull fractures as a result.

Even an idiot could have figured out the man's identity; particularly after Deidara had apologized for the behaviour of his evidently neurologically-affected companion.

As this fact registered, it triggered a rather intense response on her part.

What did Gaara think she was, a dimwit? And who the hell did he take her for? Someone whose professional knowledge he could use at his convenience but whose friendship he could deny?

Undiluted rage surged through Sakura. She could not believe him.

His situation be damned, there was no room left for understanding within her. The patience she had been striving to hold on to vanished. He was going to get a piece of her mind whether he liked it or not.

So she told Naruto she would be coming in during late afternoon the next day. She took special care to make sure the rest of the Physiotherapy Brigade was aware of this information. Gaara, evidently, had been using them as informants without them realizing it.

This done, Sakura set her resolve and waited for the long hours of the day to pass. She threw herself even more wholeheartedly into her physical therapy. It was the only way to bite down the seething anger as well as the hurt lurking underneath. Because that was the bottom line, wasn't it? Gaara was pushing her away when what she wanted the most was to stand beside him. Sakura knew he had his convoluted reasons for doing so but, if he didn't explain them to her, how could she avoid feeling hurt?

Theirs had always been a transparent interaction; they'd been honest in all their dealings. Gaara's adherence to telling the truth even to the point of brusqueness was one of the things she liked most about him. You could always count on him to tell it to you straight. It was the reason why their budding relationship had been so assuring; Sakura always knew exactly where she was standing with Gaara.

But when trouble arrived he'd abruptly stepped back, leaving her flailing and with no clear indication of what was happening. The fact that he'd decided not to confide in her inevitably chaffed and not only because she felt she was pushing her out of his life. The thought that he wasn't telling her anything because he didn't trust her was even more emotionally bruising. It might be a stupid notion but it was there; it did her no good denying it.

The whole scenario brought skeletons out of Sakura's closet she very much did not wish to face. But once out, there was nothing but to accept the apprehension they flooded her with. She'd promised herself she would never relive such situations again. Never again would she be left with no clear understanding of lurking danger. She'd overcome all that; the toxic patterns of passivity had been long ago buried and she'd be damned if she repeated them ever again.

This was foremost in her mind when she showed up at the Kyuubi Clinic before opening time the next morning. After verifying there was no one inside, she hid within the 24-hour convenience store across the street. She bought a cup of coffee and a granola bar just to keep up appearances; it wouldn't do for the clerk not to give her weird looks. She stood to one side of the magazine stand near the front window, out of sight but able to keep an eye on the clinic door.

A few minutes later, she saw Lee approaching on the opposite sidewalk, rummaging through his satchel in search of the clinic's keys. He went in, proceeding with the routine of opening business for the day. Now all she had to do was stand-by and wait.

True enough, the object of her stake out proceeded to act as predictably as she'd thought. So much for military intelligence. Wanting to steer clear of her at all costs, Sakura knew he would show up at a time when he was certain to avoid her. Hence, if she had a session scheduled for late in the afternoon, he was sure to show up for his physiotherapy early in the morning. _Very_ early.

As was his custom, he'd jogged to the clinic. Sakura watched him as he did a post-jog stretch in front of the door before walking inside. She gulped down the rest of her coffee, threw the empty paper cup in the trash bin, and made her way across the street as fast as her knee-impaired walking allowed her. If Gaara was here this early, Naruto was bound to show up soon. This meant she would probably have a window of no more than fifteen minutes alone with him.

So be it, it would have to enough.

She entered the clinic cloaked in her resolution, only to find that Lee wasn't at the front desk. He was, no doubt, in the kitchen brewing coffee. Good, this meant she would not be interrupted. Sakura walked down the corridor, going past the kitchen doorway as silently as she could and headed towards the men's changing room at the back.

Opening the door quickly, she shut it behind her just as fast, locking it in the process. She would not chance any intrusion. Emerald eyes looked up to find Gaara, shirtless, standing in front of one of the sinks. He'd stopped in the middle of washing off the sweat from his jog with a damp towel. At the sound of the door, his eyes lifted, looking at her through the mirror hanging above the faucet.

Sakura watched as the expression on his face turned from surprised to angry. Very angry.

'Angry?' she thought haughtily, 'I'll show him angry.'

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, her voice a harsh murmur. There was no point in bothering to hide the rage she was feeling. "Do you think I'm dumb enough to let you roughshod me into submission, into doing what you want? Well, think again. I don't play by your rules!"

She put her hand into her jeans pocket and pulled out the crumpled envelope containing the flash drive he'd sent her. She threw it on the bench next to his discarded shirt.

Gaara breathed out slowly, making a visible effort not to respond to her accusations. He continued washing his face, pretending she wasn't there.

"You can try to ignore me all you want but you'll listen to what I have to say," Sakura continued, stepping closer to him. "I'm not an asset you can exploit however you want. I'm not a tool you can conveniently use when the whim strikes you. You cannot come parading in, asking for my professional help while ignoring the rest of our relationship. That's not how friendship works."

He closed his eyes, his hands fisting where he was resting them on the edge of the sink.

"I know you've had little experience in the matter but you're a very quick learner. When you accept someone into your life, you can't choose what parts of them you accept or not. You have to be willing to accept _all_ of them or else the deal's off. You cannot expect for me to comply in helping to diagnose one of the members of your former platoon when you won't even tell me what's going on, when you won't even let me help _you_."

Gaara lifted his face then, looking at her through the mirror. "Then the deal is off," he said, his words meant to cut.

Sakura felt the barb but refused to let it throw her. "Too late for that, I'm afraid. You signed the deal a long time ago," she told him, "just like I signed it too."

He turned away, moving towards the opened locker where he kept his things.

She turned to follow his movements. "I understand why you might want to keep things from me, why you're pushing me away."

"Like hell you do," he countered viciously, rummaging through his things. "You have no idea of-"

"Of what?" Sakura interrupted, her anger simmering. "Of the fact that you're a cold blooded killer? That you killed countless of people during your military career? That you relished in the bloodshed and it was the only thing you lived for?"

He stopped his movements but did not turn to face her.

"I can understand why you might not want to tell me anything," Sakura continued to say. "But put yourself in my situation for a moment. What would you do if you knew my life was in danger but I refused to tell you about it? What then?"

She watched his back tense, watched as he gripped the door of the locker until his knuckles turned white.

"What if I decided I was going to face it all on my own? Pushing you away and refusing you?"

After what seemed an eternity, Gaara turned to look at her. His face was an impassive mask but the light in his eyes belied the intensity of the rage churning within him.

Sakura swallowed visibly, knowing his ire would be a formidable opponent. But she would not back down. She'd prepared herself for this and she would take as many verbal hits as was necessary until she got her point across.

Yet when Gaara spoke, his voice was steady and controlled. "Bombarding me with 'what ifs' isn't going to change anything. It seems you experienced momentary deafness the last time we spoke. I wasn't joking when I told you about your life being forfeit if you got involved." He pierced her with a pitiless look before continuing. "I credited you with more intelligence than this."

"I'm aware of-" she started to say, but he wasn't finished.

"Let me rid you of your misconceptions," he said. His voice was devoid of emotion, as if he were discussing something as mundane as the weather. "If I involve anyone in this situation, they will be killed. I know that's something you might have a hard time understanding with the sheltered life you've lead. It's a concept you can't bring yourself to fully accept."

His words felt like lead, each one dropping into the pit of her stomach.

"If anyone I involve is killed, the guilt falls on me. It's all on my head," he kept saying. "If they die, their throats cut or shot full of bullets, the weight of their corpses will fall solely on my shoulders. Their lives will be taken because they unwittingly associated with me. Because they extended their kindness to me, they ended up bleeding to death in a gutter."

He cocked his head to the side, as if contemplating some new thought. "But then again, you're aware of that already. So I'm assuming it's a burden you want me to carry with the way you showed up here."

Sakura breathed in deeply, striving for perseverance.

"You're being selfish," he told her. "You say I should put myself in your shoes, then how about you put yourself in mine."

Her lips trembled; the picture he painted was graphic, a horror she never wished to experience. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to walk out the door. Something deep inside her, no matter how austere or terrifying the situation, did not permit her to turn her back on him.

"I have put myself in your situation," she countered. "It's exactly why I'm here. All your life you've stood alone, facing it all on your own. The bloodshed, the violence, the madness; you've taken them all on by yourself, always. But it doesn't have to keep being that way. Although the life you've led-"

"The life I've led?" Gaara cut her off abruptly, his voice mocking. He sneered at her, the gesture cold and cruel. "You would never be able to comprehend the horror, not even if you try. If you had truly placed yourself in my situation, you wouldn't be here. Not only are you childish, you are ignorant and clueless."

The words stung, lacerating her heart. Sakura felt the sting of tears in her eyes. But on the heels of hurt, the crest of her anger peeked, washing over her in a swift and unrelenting wave. With a deep breath Sakura stretched to her full height, her eyes spitting emerald fire despite the dampness behind them.

"How easy it is for you to say I don't know anything of the world you come from when the same can be said about you," she lashed out angrily. "The truth is you know nothing of mine."

Tears escaped unwillingly and flowed down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do to stop them. The mixture of rage, heartache and worry was too overwhelming. But it didn't keep Sakura from talking, from saying what she had to say.

"You do not know how many times I had to nurse the man I loved back to health because he showed up, bleeding and on the verge of death, at my door."

That caught him off guard. Though fleeting, Sakura caught the flicker of distress in his eyes. If it was due to her tears or her words, she didn't know. But she didn't stop; the dam was now broken and it all came rushing out.

"You do not know how many times I sat through the long endless nights because I knew he was out there, unhinged in his mind as he was, involved in the criminal trade of the underworld mafia." Her voice was hoarse, tinged with the misery of the memories she was evoking. "He was out there, stealing, killing and scheming, with absolutely no concern for my regard. He would have happily died if it meant he could achieve his murderous goals. And I could do _nothing_... just stay home and wait until he either showed up injured or I received news of his death. My hands tied, I watched him expose himself to danger over and over again."

Gaara clenched and unclenched his hands, the only telltale sign of his agitation.

Sakura wiped the tears from her cheeks brusquely before continuing. "But you know what the worst part was? Not knowing what he was doing, not knowing what he was facing. It was the paralyzing fear of being forced to remain ignorant, of being pushed aside like meaningless baggage. It was the dread of having to deal with his wounds, his blood dripping through my hands, without knowing the reasons behind them. Because he knew... he knew very well I would walk through fire for him. No matter what he did to me or how badly he treated me, I would always be there, willing to patch him up whenever he showed up."

Without warning, Gaara lifted his hand and slammed his fist into the metal doors of the locker. "I cannot believe you're comparing me to such an asshole," he hissed, his fury palpable.

"I am not!" Sakura exclaimed, countering with her own anger. "You're different. That's why I'm here. I know you're not pushing me away because you don't care. It's the opposite. You're keeping me at arm's length because you want to protect me."

"If you know that, then why can't you leave it? Why can't you see it's for you own good?"

"Because leaving you to your own means is not something I can do," she replied, her voice breaking. "If you were in my position you would do the same. Gaara, I would go to the ends of the world and back if it meant I could keep you safe."

"I don't need you to keep me safe," he bit back defensively. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," Sakura admitted ruefully, "I know you're very capable of doing so. That's how you've managed to survive all this time. But that's the bottom line of the issue. Even though you _can_ doesn't mean you _should_."

"So you're saying you can protect me," he scoffed, "that you can shield me from the danger? You're being childish again. The people who are coming after me are trained military specialists, Sakura. They were trained to maim and kill, no questions asked. They won't hold back in using the people close to me to their advantage."

His eyes hardened, the planes of his face taking on a ruthless mien. "Risking your life because of anything relating to me isn't something I will ever condone. You'll just have to come to terms with that."

"If it came to that, I would," Sakura told him. "I would willingly risk my life for you. Yet, I know I'm not physically capable of running headlong into the kind of situation you will likely face. I'm handicapped in that respect and not just because of my knee."

"Then why the hell are you here?" Gaara asked, his shout finally betraying his impatience.

She moved closer to him, not stopping until she was standing right in front of him. Looking into his eyes, she lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "Because I needed you to know how I felt. Because I want to share the load. You've been by yourself for so painfully long. Something inside me refuses to allow you to go at it alone. Even if I can't go charging in with you, I can help. Gaara, there are ways of standing firm beside a person that don't imply walking straight into the line of fire."

He stood there, immobile in front of her. Though he gave no outward sign, Sakura could perceive the turmoil churning inside him.

"I'm afraid that isn't the case in this instance," he informed her, his voice impassive once more. "You have no idea of what you're asking of me."

"Of course I don't," Sakura conceded. "How can I know unless you tell me? How can I understand what you're going through if you don't talk to me?"

His jade eyes bore into her, his face frozen. He was like a stone monolith, unmoving and adamant in his stance, refusing to answer her. Silence hovered over them for what seemed a long time.

A fresh tear slid down Sakura's cheek but she ignored it. She finally moved, closing the distance between them until she could feel his breath on her brow. Her free hand lifted of its own accord, her palm resting over his beating heart.

"No matter what, you always push me out of my comfort zone, Gaara," she told him. "This time was no exception. When I looked over the flash drive, I was reminded of all the times I had to keep my mouth shut and do as I was told." The muscles under her hand quivered with tension. "But it also reminded me of something else, of a vow I made to myself a long time ago."

Her fingers clenched, her nails scraping over his skin as her hand turned into a fist. With a deep breath, she turned her eyes up to his. "I promised myself I would never go through such an experience again: never again would I stand by idly when the man I love is in danger."

And there it was, out in the open, hanging in the air between them; an admission that had been necessary to make. All the long months of anguish, all the winding ways of perseverance had led Sakura to his moment. All this time, she'd had no idea of what her destination was until she'd arrived.

Confusion clouded his eyes as he looked at her, as if he was unable to understand what she had just said. But Gaara had always been quick on the uptake. A moment later, Sakura witnessed the instant when her words finally registered, when bewilderment turned to disbelief in his expression.

Before he had a chance to speak, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him fully on the lips.

Although the hardness of his body was a reflection of the hardness of his demeanour, Sakura could tell she'd caught him by surprise. As such, she gave him no quarter. She kissed him with all the raw emotions she had been forced to keep down for days. Her tongue darted between his lips as she raised her hand to grip him at the nape and pull him closer. She gave him no alternative and when he responded to the intensity of her assault, she moved forward before he could bring his arms around her. Digging her crutch against his hip and gripping him by the hair, she pushed him until his back connected with the lockers. Without breaking her scorching kiss, she draped herself against his body, tingling all over at the feel of his damp skin. He smelled of musk, heat and flame, his intoxicating essence driving her onwards.

If her words hadn't gotten her point across to him, then her actions most certainly would.

With a groan, he lifted his hands to her head, gripping her hair as he deepened the angle of their exchange. Sakura allowed it but didn't yield for a moment. Desperation and ferocity coloured their wet and slick kiss. She pushed up against him even more, bringing her hand down from his neck to slither down his magnificent torso. Stepping more firmly between his legs, Sakura wanted nothing more than to melt into his heat. The salty taste of her previous tears mingling in their mouths only heightened the rawness of the feelings he elicited in her. She scraped her nails down the side of his abdomen, intending to snake her arm around his waist.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted from somewhere down the corridor. "I'm eating my bagels and then we're going to work your ass off. So you'd better be ready!"

Sakura pulled back abruptly. Although his fingers were buried in her hair, Gaara permitted it. They stared at each other, their heated breaths coming out in gasps. She watched as his expression hardened; as if her actions had only reinforced his inflexible position.

She pushed away before he could speak, feeling instantly bereft of his warmth. Although breathing harshly, Gaara made no attempt to pull her back. Sakura forced herself to turn away and make her way to the door. All the tumultuous emotions within her rose to the fore and she allowed them to filter into her voice.

Without turning, she spoke. "Gaara, I can't lose you... I wouldn't survive it. I know you might think I'm exaggerating but I'm not: all my efforts to piece my life back together will be in vain if you're not there. You will just have to come to terms with that."

Without giving him a chance to answer, Sakura unlocked the door and stepped out hurriedly, leaving him to his silence.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Sometime later, Sakura stepped out of the hotel elevator. The need to lock herself in her room and bury herself in her pillows was adamant. She looked like a wreck and she knew it. The face of the poor taxi driver that had dropped her off just moments before had said it all. Although he was clearly uncomfortable with having a weeping woman in the back seat of his cab, he had done his best to try to alleviate the situation. Sakura appreciated his efforts but remained unconcerned; the commotion of all she was feeling was the only thing she could concentrate on.

All in all, she was satisfied with the result of her encounter with Gaara. Although not in the way she had intended, she had managed to communicate all she'd wanted to tell him in one way or another. The ball was on his side of the court now. After revealing her hand, all Sakura could do now was wait. Depending on his response would she be able to plan her next move.

Depending on how he reacted to the unexpected acknowledgment of her love would Sakura be able to make any decisions.

Would he welcome it? She wondered. Or would he shove it away and pretend it wasn't there?

For the life of her, she had no clue. Just like she had no idea of the situation he was involved in either. Once more, Haruno Sakura was left with an exposed heart and no clear idea of just where she was standing. It was all she could do to prevent the anxiety from consuming her from the inside out.

Still, it was a familiar position. One she was determined to overcome. Sakura may be repeating her noxious patterns but this time around, she would make certain the outcome was different. Life was giving her the opportunity to change the results and she could cling to it for all she was worth.

She was so distracted by her thoughts she didn't notice her backpack slip down her arm as she was fumbling inside it for her room's key card. It fell to the floor, scattering her things on the carpet.

Cursing, she slowly lowered herself down on her crutch to pick up her mess. As she did so, she heard a door down the hallway open and close, followed by the sounds of footsteps coming her way.

Great! Just what she needed right now: another hotel guest witnessing her stupidity.

"Are you alright?" a female voiced asked as if on cue.

"Yes, thank you," Sakura answered without looking up. "I was just being a klutz."

Ignoring her protests, the woman was suddenly on her knees next to Sakura, helping her gather her belongings. "Here's your key card," she said, handing it over.

Sakura lifted her eyes to her face then, thanking her politely. Caught off guard, she was surprised at how beautiful she was. Her calm face possessed a classic sort of beauty; her hair was a deep blue, pinned tightly back into a bun at the back of her head and decorated with a paper flower. She was dressed in an expensive business suit.

Their gazes locked and Sakura watched as her gray eyes widened slightly. It seemed she'd finally registered Sakura's gaunt face and puffy red-rimmed eyes.

She reiterated her question. "Are you alright?"

_No_, Sakura thought dismally. But out loud, she answered, "Yes, I'm fine."

The woman's eyes studied her, finally settling on the crutch lying on the floor next to Sakura. "Here, let me help you stand," she offered.

Sakura started to protest but the woman was faster. With surprising strength in her willowy frame, she pulled Sakura up into a standing position.

"Thank you," she said, blinking.

"I know it's none of my business," the woman added, handing Sakura her crutch. "But if you need anything, I'm just down the hall. Room 417."

Although the woman didn't smile, there was concern in her gaze. Maybe because she'd been having a very crappy week or because the events of the morning had left her emotionally unbalanced, Sakura couldn't help feeling gratitude at her gesture to a clumsy stranger.

"I'm Konan," the woman said, holding out her hand.

"Sakura," she replied as she grasped it with her own.

They exchanged farewells after Sakura thanked her again for her assistance. Unlocking her door, she watched Konan as she continued to walk purposely down the hallway and towards the elevators. When she disappeared into the lift, Sakura finally walked into her room, feeling slightly better and more centred.

Nothing like a random encounter with a considerate stranger to help you regain perspective.


End file.
